Rep. Lauren Boebert’s (R) reelection has gone from foregone conclusion to the fight of her life in Colorado’s third district.
She’s running against former Aspen City Council Member Democrat Adam Frisch. Frisch has characterized himself as a conservative businessman as to not alienate voters in the largely rural district.
The race seemed like such a lock for Boebert that Frisch was at one point highlighting an internal poll showing himself seven points down as a positive sign for his campaign.
Boebert, like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), is a freshman who distinguished herself by her adulation to Donald Trump, her affinity for spreading conspiracy theories and her aggressive social media persona. Boebert has also made opposition to all gun regulation a key part of her identity, and owned a restaurant in the town of (wait for it) Rifle where the staff open-carried firearms. It has now closed after her landlord reportedly said he felt a “moral” imperative to boot her. (Its food also once reportedly gave a bunch of people diarrhea.)
She has also, in her brief time in Congress, heckled President Joe Biden while he talked about his dead son, come under scrutiny from the Jan. 6 Committee and insinuated that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) is a terrorist, sparking death threats to the congresswoman, then refused to apologize.
The close race matters all the more as Democrats put in a surprisingly strong showing in House races across the country, putting control of the lower chamber back in play.
