Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert won the primary in Colorado’s new congressional district.
The controversial congresswoman defeated five Republican opponents in a fierce primary in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District and is likely to win her seat in November’s general election.
CBS
Boebert won with just over 43% of the vote, as of 8:47 p.m., with 91% of the votes counted.
At a victory party in northern Colorado, Boebert wore a “Make America Great Again” hat. Donald Trump branded sneakers He called for Republican unity and building bridges with other Republicans.
“We need to get involved at the local level and start working to take back our state,” she said, “and get informed and never let your opponents fool you again. Don’t let anyone tell you that your voice doesn’t matter, that your vote doesn’t matter, because your voice absolutely does.”
Boebert currently represents Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, but decided to run in the more conservative 4th Congressional District after Rep. Ken Buck resigned earlier this year.
CD4 includes most of eastern Colorado, as well as Loveland and Windsor (both in northern Colorado) and Douglas County (southern Denver metropolitan area). Nearly half of the district’s voters live in Douglas County, where CBS News Colorado political expert Shawn Boyd said the Republican Party is “less MAGA-ish and more mainstream.”
Though there are nearly twice as many Republicans as Democrats in the county, former President Donald Trump won Douglas County by just a seven-point margin in 2020. Overall, Trump lost Colorado in 2020 by 13 points.
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Boebert gave up her seat in the 3rd Congressional District after facing possible defeat. Democrat Adam Frisch When she announced she would run in another constituency in 2022, she said the move came after “a rather difficult year for me and my family.” A hotly discussed divorce.
Boebert touted Trump’s endorsement during her campaign, which CBS Colorado Democrat political analyst Mike Dino said helped her immensely.
“Don’t underestimate President Trump’s support. It helped her a lot early on, because it was a big risk for her to leave her comfortable, at least seemingly comfortable, 3rd Congressional District and move across the Continental Divide,” Dino said.
Boebert also spoke at length about immigration during her campaign. Last month’s CBS Colorado debateShe argued that illegal immigrants were straining the country’s systems and services and called for mass deportations.
“Build a wall and deport everybody,” she repeated throughout the campaign.
Dick Wadhams, a Republican political analyst for CBS Colorado, said Boebert’s huge fundraising lead over many of her opponents was also a big boost for her.
“Congresswoman Lauren Boebert came into this race with two very clear advantages: money in the bank and name recognition as a sitting member of Congress, neither of which her five opponents could match,” Wadhams said. “So this large, diverse field of candidates was a great advantage to her.”
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“It’s not over yet,” Boebert told supporters Tuesday night, urging everyone to get involved in the presidential election.
“President Trump needs our help now more than ever to put him on the campaign trail for the White House on November 5th,” she said. “We have a lot of work to do. We can’t slow down. We can’t let our guard down.”
During the CBS Colorado debate, several of Boebert’s opponents spoke of their farming and ranching backgrounds, indirectly highlighting her status as a newcomer to the district. Only candidate Deborah Flora, a conservative radio talk show host, directly attacked Boebert’s actions, accusing her of “abandoning her neighbors in the 3rd Congressional District.”
Flora described the controversial congresswoman as someone who cares more about national attention than representing Coloradans.
“We know how Lauren Boebert will represent us,” Flora said, “following the cameras, missing key votes, and being at the center of Washington drama without offering real solutions for people.”
In the primary, Flora placed third with 13.8% of the vote, and Jerry Sonnenberg placed second with 14.3%. Mike Lynch and Richard Holtorf each received 11% of the vote.
“At the end of the day, (Boebert) didn’t get more than 50 percent approval, and I think that’s an important thing to consider,” Dino said.
Republican Greg Lopez won Tuesday night’s election. 4th District Special Election He will serve out the remainder of Buck’s term. The Democratic primary in the 4th District was still undecided as of 9 p.m., with Trisha Calvarese holding a slight lead (45%) over Ike McCorkle (41%).
