Colorado: Why Lauren Boebert is in a tight re-election race

• Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert faces Democrat Adam Frisch in a close race.
• Given the nature of her constituency and her political branding, this shouldn’t come as a surprise.
• Contrary to other hard-right Republicans, her Colorado district supported Trump by less that 10 points in 2020.

Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert In a tight raceWith Democratic candidate Adam Frisch, despite representing a large rural Colorado district that was recently rated safe Republican.

It’s an unexpected result, especially given Boebert’s. Evident confidence going into election night. The polls before Election Day showed Boebert in a comfortable lead, while Frisch, an Aspen City Council member and businessman had received very little support from the national Democratic party.

—Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) November 8, 2022

The ballots were being counted as of publication. If candidates finish within 0.5% of each other, An automatic recount will be initiated.

On Thursday, the congresswoman spoke earlier Posted on PoliticoShe felt “great” about her chances of re-election and advocated for it. Performance excellenceBy the top of Colorado’s Democratic ticket, there were down ballot effects. 

Boebert’s disappointing showing should not surprise, considering some aspects of the race.

A Colorado ‘postcard’ 

Colorado’s third congressional district, encompassing large swaths of the western and southern part of the state, isn’t exactly ruby-red — former President Donald Trump won the district by just 5.5 points in 2020. According to the new district, Trump would have received 8.2 points from the newly drawn version. An analysis by Daily Kos.

By comparison, districts held by other far-right firebrands — including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Paul Gosar of Arizona, and Matt Gaetz of Florida — all went for Trump by over 25 points in 2020.

Boebert’s is, however, more ideologically heterodox.

Kerry Donovan is a Democratic state senator from Vail, who has launched a campaign against Boebert. It was forced to be abandoned by the new district.Insider spoke to, in a telephone interview. He said that there is much more to the region then what a quick glance at the map might show.

“It’s almost like Colorado,” she described the district, referring to the area’s national parks as well as the majestic Rocky Mountains. “But there are ski communities, traditional ranching communities and mining communities. There’s also industrial communities.

It is home both to the well-known liberal enclaves Aspen and Durango and also the city of Pueblo.

“When we gather the conglomerate together,” she said. “I don’t think that we take very kindly people who are more concerned with politics and fame rather than getting things done.

Extreme views from a viral lawmaker

Donovan, a Democrat representing some of the district’s most liberal towns, is not surprising. Boebert is undoubtedly a member of a group of GOP lawmakers who have achieved viral fame via social networking and cable news appearances. Many times, it was for controversial outbursts.

It’s also the second reason Boebert was not always re-elected.

Boebert is most well-known for her flame-throwing skills in Washington. She was elected to office her first day. In the House chamber, set off metal detectorsAfter pledging, he will bring a firearm to the House floor.

Last year, Democratic lawmakers called for Boebert’s censure. Insinuated that Ilhan Omar, Democratic Representative of Minnesota, was a suicide bomber. During President Biden’s State of the Union address, he spoke out about Beau’s exposure at toxic burn pits. She scolded the president. Recently, she was subject to scrutiny Say itShe’s “tired” of the “separation of church and state junk.”

Voters are very concerned about abortion rights, but Boebert is not. SupportThe procedure was severely restricted. Colorado voters will elect a majority of the 2020 ballot. rejectedAbortion must be stopped after 22 weeks. 

Frisch’s campaign didn’t respond to Insider’s request for interview. Semafor told on WednesdayBoebert said that he challenged Boebert after she made “some comments” last year that were “not helpful” and “were discourteous,” possibly referring to Omar’s remarks.

Frisch referred to Boebert’s modest win in 2020 as the “only place in the country where there is any mathematical chance of seeing one of these extremists defeat.” He ran as a pro-business, pro domestic energy, moderate candidate who wanted to join the Problem Solvers Caucus. Your words.

Donovan said, “His campaign was clearly dedicated to getting on the roads, and that’s truly important in any rural race.”

Donovan acknowledged that the narrow margin could be attributed to a national environment in Democratic performance, and said she would not be surprised if it was closer.

Despite polling showing a tighter race Democratic Senator Michael Bennet He beat his opponentTuesday night. Strong results were also recorded for other Democrats in the state.

Frisch kept the fundraising process close to his heart. raisingHis campaign cost $5.2 million compared to Boebert’s $6.7million haul. He. BloombergThe Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee didn’t send him any cash.

Outside spending by the anti-Boebert party helped to make up some of this gap, even though House Democrats’ official campaign arm didn’t get involved.

According to ProPublicaBoebert was a member of two outside groups that were affiliated with the conservative House Freedom Caucus. They spent a total $136,000. But that was dwarfed by nearly $690,000 in overall outside spending from a handful of Democratic-aligned super PACs — including People For Good Sense, Colorado United PAC?, and Operation 147 — that went mostly towards television, digital, and radio advertising.

Frisch also saw the benefits of the Support and endorsementDon Coram was a Republican state senator from Colorado, representing a district in the far southwest of Colorado. He unsuccessfully challenged Boebert to be the GOP nominee this year.

“Adam and me differ on many policies and issues. But I do know that he is a person who will sit down with us and have a discussion. Coram wrote in his endorsement letter that this is what we should expect of our representative. “Lauren spends her time flying around the country, promoting herself and using extreme rhetoric that only divides the country.” It’s disgraceful. We should expect more from the United States Representative.

Boebert could be reminded by the close-to-expected results, regardless of how they turn out.

For the moment, however, the congressman It appears that they are still waiting for the countJust like all of us.

—Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) November 10, 2022