DENVER (CN) — Brash, gun-totting Congresswoman Lauren Boebert clocked a 29-point lead on her opponent, state Senator Don Coram, in the Republican primary for Colorado’s 3rd District.
At least half of Colorado's registered Republicans voted, as of 3:30 pm, in a primary election that will decide the party’s fate come November in the purple-turned-blue state.
The state’s afternoon tally of 972,188 ballots, includes 481,058 Republicans, 404,967 Democrats and 86,163 unaffiliated voters, representing roughly a quarter of eligible active voters. Only 1% of voters voted in person, while 99% of ballots were mailed or dropped off in signed, sealed envelopes.
Colorado runs a semi-open primary, allowing independent and unaffiliated voters to participate in one party’s primary.
Roughly two-thirds of unaffiliated voters participated in the Democratic Party primary, while a third voted Republican —debunking the myth that Democrats have been changing their party affiliation en masse to sabotage the Republican ticket.
Colorado’s 3rd District stretches 27 counties from the state’s northwestern and southwestern corners east into the central Rocky Mountains.
Coram, an established moderate, raised $228,985 to Boebert's $4.5 million war chest.
Boebert won her first political campaign against former Congressman Scott Tipton in the 2020 Republican primary on a vocal MAGA campaign. A staunch supporter of the Second Amendment, she owns a restaurant in Rifle, Colorado, where servers wear loaded pistols as part of their uniform.
“I’m thrilled the voters showed their confidence in me to continue being their representative,” Boebert said in a statement. “Conservative Republicans like me are going to help take back the house in November, fire Nancy Pelosi, and do all we can to get our country back on track.”
Her win would be equally unsurprising and infuriating to her critics, of which there are many, including the American Muckrackers PAC which launched a campaign to Fire Boebert in June. The group released photos and text messages alleging Boebert had misappropriated campaign funds, worked as an escort and underwent two abortions, despite lobbying against the medical procedure.
In the 2020 general election, Boebert defeated Democratic candidate Diane Bush with 51% of the vote. That narrow 1% lead gives Democrats hope of breaking into a district which has consistently supported Republican presidential and gubernatorial candidates since 2000.
Entrepreneur and former-Aspen City council member, Adam Frisch reported the largest campaign budget, with a largely self-funded $1 million. Community activist Sol Sandoval raised $898,000 and mechanical engineer Alex Walker raised $249,000.
Frisch campaigned across the district on a “Beat Boebert Brewery Tour,” explaining why he thought himself as the only Democrat who could win in November.
Frisch tracked a 4-point lead on Sandoval who trailed 1,700 votes behind.
“I am humbled the voters selected me to defeat Boebert,” Frisch said in a statement. “Over 55% of voters selected someone other than Boebert in the primary. I’ll build that same coalition to beat Boebert in November.”
Early results put Frisch in the lead, with Sandoval trailing just 1,300 votes behind.
Colorado’s newly drawn 8th Congressional District spans from Denver commuter suburbs Thornton and Brighton up to rural Greeley where the economy centers around oil and gas. Of recent active voters in the region, 28% were Democrat, 25% Republican and 44% unaffiliated.
With three northern counties reporting results, State Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer took lead of the Republican Party with 40% of ballots cast so far.
State Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer took lead of the Republican Party with 40% of ballots counted.
“Nancy Pelosi and her super PAC allies tried to meddle in this race, but my Republican primary voters didn’t fall for it,” Kirkmeyer told Courthouse News over the phone. “We’ve got to beat back this inflation, we’ve got to cut our spending and cut the deficit spending, get rid of the debt, we’ve got to become energy independent and work to get those oil and gas worker jobs back.”