Lauren Boebert spent a significant length of time as a laughingstock following her escapades at a Denver theater. Does this mean she won’t be coming back to Congress after her current term?
The fundraising numbers are out for the third quarter and once again, the Democrat seeking to oust Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) pulled in some huge numbers.
Adam Frisch, who ran against Boebert in 2022 and nearly defeated her, raised $3.4 million in the third quarter, Politico reported. The site described Frisch’s haul as “more than many nationally touted Democratic Senate candidates.”
Frisch now holds $4.3 million of cash on hand.
“I am deeply humbled by the over 100,000 individual donations that were made to our campaign this quarter to defeat Lauren Boebert,” Frisch said in a statement to the media. He is not the only candidate running against Boebert, as candidates from the Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian parties have gotten in the ring already, but Frisch is the most well-funded.
The quarter is the one in which Boebert made national headlines after she was kicked out of a performance of “Beetlejuice: The Musical” at a Denver theater, and made light of the situation before apologizing.
Does that mean her reelection changes have been hurt, or is the theater story merely baked into the Boebert cake?
“The election is a long way off, so it’s impossible to predict how this plays out. The district has a large Republican registration edge, although she barely squeaked by last time. Her opponent last time is running again, but he has to get out the primary first,” Robert Duffy, a professor and Political Science Department Chair at Colorado State University, told 19FortyFive this week.
There has only been one reported poll in the race so far, although it was financed by Frisch’s campaign. But that didn’t stop Boebert from sending out fundraising emails about the poll.
“In the past, this situation—as well as some others she has been involved in—would have ended someone’s political career. But we are living in different times. All of this is self-inflicted, of course, but I can’t say whether enough of her constituents are tired of her behavior to cost her the seat,” Duffy added.
There was another big surprise with Boebert this week. The Congresswoman, who was part of the group of hard-liners who had opposed Kevin McCarthy’s speakership back in January, voted against the motion to vacate.
The Pueblo Chieftain looked at the question of why.
“No for now,” Boebert posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Now is not the time to remove the Speaker and I have decided to vote against the motion to vacate the chair.”
“My focus right now is on getting the federal government funded through 12 individual spending bills like we promised everyone in January, delivering on the priorities of the Third District, and moving forward on the Oversight and Accountability Committee’s impeachment inquiry.,” she added. “Another Speaker fight right now, in my opinion, undermines those priorities at the worst possible time. It would delay the hard work and important fights necessary to get this country back on track. We need to finish the job the American people elected us to do, and I’m here to ensure that happens.’
Another speaker fight is set to happen, with both Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-IL) already officially running for the gavel.
Another Republican from the state, Rep. Ken Buck, voted for the motion to vacate.
And while Boebert was spared the mockery for the theater incident from late-night talk shows, who were on strike at the time that it happened. But the hosts returned this week and went after Boebert immediately.
Stephen Colbert posted a “re-enactment” of the theater incident, while Jimmy Fallon also hit the Congresswoman with a monologue joke.
“I am so excited to be here. I am so excited,” Fallon said on “The Tonight Show” on October 2. “Seriously. I’m more excited than a guy seeing ‘Beetlejuice’ with Lauren Boebert.”
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. Stephen has authored thousands of articles over the years that focus on politics, technology, and the economy for over a decade. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
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