An ardent Trump loyalist faces a fierce race to retain her House seat as it has become increasingly clear that her Democratic opponent has made windfall gains.
Colorado Republican firebrand Lauren Boebert is in a close race for re-election against Democrat Adam Frisch, a former Aspen councilman who blasted Boebert’s “anger” in Washington.
Almost all the votes have been counted (89%) and while Boebert is at 49.1%, Frisch is at 50.9%.
A loyalist to Donald Trump, Boebert established herself as a national lightning rod during her first term.
She criticized President Biden’s approach to inflation, crime, reliance on foreign oil and border policy.
Aardent Trump loyalist Lauren Boebert (pictured) faces a fierce race to retain her House seat as it has become increasingly clear that her Democratic opponent has made windfall gains
Democratic candidate for Colorado’s third congressional district, Adam Frisch, hoped he could sway voters
His midterm election prospects in Colorado’s mostly rural 3rd congressional district appeared boosted by a redistricting that made the district more Republican.
The race was too early to call early Wednesday.
At a Tuesday night campaign party at a Grand Junction restaurant and bar, Boebert offered a long prayer to his supporters.
She said, “We will have this victory.
Frisch spent the evening with supporters in Aspen.
Jayson Boebert puts his arms around his wife, Republican Congressman Lauren Boebert, as they pray during election night in Grand Junction, Colorado on Tuesday, November 8
He said he felt good about the challenge he posed to Boebert, who was widely seen as a lock for the seat until the results started rolling in Tuesday night.
“I spent 10 months trying to convince donors, journalists and political strategists around the world that there was a way forward,” Frisch said in an interview just after midnight. ‘
“And people started believing it a little bit a month ago, and people started believing it a lot four hours ago.”
For Frisch, this was no surprise.
“I have this calm belief that 40% of the Republican Party want their party back,” he said.
Frisch, a conservative Democrat, argues that Boebert sacrificed district interests, instead focusing on talk show and social media appearances to accuse Biden and Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of seeking to destroy the soul of the nation.
Frisch pledged, if elected, to join a bipartisan Caucus of Problem Solvers in Congress, a stark reversal from Boebert’s repudiation of consensus building across the aisle.
Republican state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer and Democratic state Rep. Yadira Caraveo were in another close race in Colorado’s new 8th congressional district, stretching north from Denver to Greeley.
The race was also being watched nationally as the GOP sought to overturn congressional control.
Kirkmeyer, a former Weld County Commissioner, pledges to get tough on crime, free up the district’s oil and gas industry, and limit government spending. She once backed a blanket ban on abortion, but now says she would respect exceptions if the mother’s life is in danger.
Outgoing U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., talks to a TV reporter on election night yesterday
Caraveo is a pediatrician and abortion rights advocate who voted for police accountability after the George Floyd protests.
Caraveo hopes his cultural lineage as the child of Mexican immigrants will draw support in a vibrant neighborhood where Latinos make up nearly 40% of voters.
In other races in Colorado, Democratic state Senator Brittany Pettersen defeated Republican Erik Aadland, an oil and gas industry veteran, in suburban Denver’s 7th District to replace the eight-year Democratic Rep. warrants Ed Perlmutter.
Aadland received backlash after a leaked video of him questioning the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Four-term Republican U.S. Rep. Ken Buck in eastern Colorado and eight-term Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn in El Paso County won reelection, as did Democratic Rep. Diana Degette, Jason Crow and Joe Neguse.
Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, left, and her husband Jayson Boebert campaign at an election day rally in Grand Junction yesterday
About 7 in 10 voters in Colorado say things in the country are headed in the wrong direction, according to AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of more than 2,700 voters in the state.
The poll also shows that voters overwhelmingly disapprove of economic conditions in the United States. About three-quarters say the state of the economy is not so good or so bad, compared with about a quarter who rate it as excellent or good. About a third say their family is financially behind.
The Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade’s 1973 abortion decision also played a role in most voter decisions, with about 8 in 10 calling it a factor in how they voted. About a quarter call it the most important factor in their vote.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump were both high on voters’ minds during the midterm elections, according to the poll. More than 6 in 10 say Biden was a factor in their vote, and a similar proportion say so of Trump.
