The controversial Colorado Congresswoman, Lauren Boebert, is running for re-election. And while her district leads strongly Republican, the Cook Political Report has switched its rating on the race to call it a toss up.
Lauren Boebert Has a Problem
In 2022, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) was re-elected, over Democrat Adam Frisch, in what was the closest Congressional race in the country. Frisch actually led on election night, but Boebert emerged as the winner a few days later.
Now, Frisch is running against Boebert again, and has significantly out-raised Boebert so far, from contributors very much wanting to see Boebert defeated. And now, a respected organization that measures Congressional races has changed its rating on the race.
The Cook Political Report announced Thursday that it has switched the Colorado Third Congressional District race from “Lean Republican” to “Toss Up.”
The switch was made following the release of the second quarter financial numbers, in which the Democrat raised $2.6 million and Boebert brought in $818,000.
“Not only has Boebert avoided taking any steps to moderate her image since coming within 546 votes of losing to former Aspen Councilman Adam Frisch in 2022, Frisch outraised her by a massive $2.6 million to $810,000 in the second quarter thanks to an avalanche of small-dollar donations,” Cook Political Report’s David Wasserman wrote in the analysis, as cited by The Hill.
Wasserman went on to predict that the GOP will likely get more involved in the race, specifically by going negative on Frisch.
The party, per the analyst, is “likely to invest heavily to redefine the self-styled moderate as a limousine liberal out of step with the Western Slope.” He added that many voters who sat out the midterms in 2022 might end up voting in 2024, a voting pattern that might be helpful to Boebert.
Frisch, however, has been expressing happiness with the race so far.
“Boebert is losing support as she continues her angertainment antics that do nothing to help her constituents in CO-3, including attacking our military service members on the House floor today and ranking 433 out of 435 in bipartisanship,” the Democratic candidate said. Previously, Frisch had said on Twitter that if voters turn Boebert out of office, they can prevent her from qualifying for her full Congressional pension.
Meanwhile, some Republicans appear sick of Boebert’s antics, which have included a “privileged motion” to force an impeachment vote for President Biden, even though it had zero chance of succeeding.
“A lot of Republicans have been bewildered by her,” Dick Wadhams, the former chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, said in an interview with NBC News . “She has not changed her operating style, either substantively or just generally.”
“The perception, whether it’s fair or not, is that Congresswoman Boebert has paid more attention to fighting these battles within the Republican Party than she has paid attention to the district,” Wadhams said in that interview. “Now, I’m sure her office would refute that. The trouble is it gets obscured by how she conducts herself. And that’s what she’s battling right now.”
One member of Congress, granted anonymity, was more blunt.
“Her [expletive] needs to get home to go campaign. Cut ribbons, go to bar mitzvahs, and take credit for stuff she had absolutely nothing to do with.”
An April poll, from a Democratic-leaning group, had placed Boebert and Frisch tied at 45 percent of the vote each. This came around the time the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) put Boebert on a list of “targeted” candidates in 2024.
“Lauren Boebert is more obsessed with catching headlines and being the token MAGA extremist than actually working for everyday Coloradans,” DCCC Tommy Garcia spokesman said in a campaign email this spring. “Between her dangerous conspiracies and outright racist bigotry, CO-03 voters can see that Lauren Boebert is an unserious member of Congress, unwilling to go to bat for them on issues facing Colorado. Her time in Congress is ticking down.”
Author Expertise and Experience
Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.
From 19FortyFive
The Second American Civil War Has Begun
