Colorado rep fights first election since switching districts and Beetlejuice scandal

Colorado Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert faces voters in her state’s GOP primary election on Tuesday after she fled a tough re-election race to run in a more right-leaning district, only to suffer a scandal-hit campaign and accusations of carpet-bagging.

Boebert, who first planted her MAGA flag in the House of Representatives in 2020, has amassed conservative clout with her attention-seeking antics on Capitol Hill but faced more than her fair share of public embarrassments and setbacks.

It’s Boebert’s first election since the Beetlejuice scandal when she was asked to leave a performance of the musical in Denver after she loudly sang along, vaped, and got intimate with her date.

On Tuesday, the congresswoman is up against a number of more traditional GOP rivals, including former state senator Jerry Sonnenberg, current state representatives Mike Lynch and Richard Holtorf, and parental rights advocate Deborah Flora.

New York Democratic congressman Jamaal Bowman, one of the most liberal members of Congress, is also facing a strong primary challenge on Tuesday from moderate county executive George Latimer in a Big Apple race that has turned a spotlight on the party’s divides over the Israel-Hamas war.

Key Points

• MAGA’s Lauren Boebert facing fight for survival in messy Republican primary after switching districts

• Boebert runs ‘American Gladiator’ gauntlet in final campaign appearance

• Representative insists she’s only ‘true conservative’ in Colorado race

• Ranch emergency pulls Boebert’s rival off the campaign trail on primary eve

• Boebert’s many scandals and controversies

Boebert on the issues: Water usage

20:20 , John Bowden

An issue of real importance to many in the western US, where freshwater access is a growing concern in the face of a changing climate and more unpredictable weather patterns, Boebert has found herself the target of repeated criticism from one of her rivals — as well as the White House — on this issue.

The Colorado congresswoman voted against infrastructure funding that included more than $20m for water retention projects around her state, yet still found the time to take credit for them after the bill passed without her support.

“I didn’t agree to the swampy way it came to the floor but I fought to get the stuff in the bills and it’s there,” she told The Independent in March. “And Colorado is going to benefit from it.”

Voter says he likes Boebert because she’s ‘loud and aggressive, like Trump’

19:50 , Sheila Flynn in Silt, Colorado

Garfield County Republican Doug Wight voted for Lauren Boebert in the past and would have voted for her again, had she remained in his district of CD3, he tells The Independent.

He has installed Trump banners, flags, and a sign telling Democrats “YOU SUCK!!!” outside his small business, Gold Ring Pawn, in Silt – the town where the congresswoman and her ex-husband raised their sons and where police were called to a public spat between them earlier this year.

“I like the fact that she is similar to and supportive of Donald Trump,” says Wight, 70. “She’s loud and aggressive, like Trump, like Marjorie Taylor Greene.

“Whether that’s effective in Washington DC, I don’t know. But she’s just not cut from the same political cloth as most arrogant, ignorant politicians are.

“Life in the big city, where you’re controlled and manipulated … is way different than living in the country, where we don’t like to be told what to do. So she definitely signifies or lives that lifestyle, as opposed to big city life.”

He particularly supported her vocal dedication to upholding gun rights, the issue that’s “probably my number one reason for voting, period.”

“She just supports it,” he says of the Second Amendment. “She’s not going to compromise.”

Echoing the oft-expressed fear throughout much of the district that “they’re going to take your guns away eventually,” he says: “She does not compromise on that principle.”

Boebert on the issues: Abortion/reproductive rights

19:30 , John Bowden

The congresswoman says on her website that she believes life begins at conception, an unsurprising take for a conservative.

But Boebert does not specify whether she would support an abortion ban at the national level; she describes herself as a supporter of the Tenth Amendment, which remands powers to the states not explicitly granted to Congress, and says that she supports states making their own decisions on abortion rights. Her campaign has not specified whether she would back restrictions on contraception or in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Lauren Boebert was dodging foam pool noodles in one of her final campaign appearances

19:00 , Sheila Flynn

Lauren Boebert danced in red stilettos down a gauntlet of Republicans wielding foam pool noodles in a faux “American Gladiator” event during one of the more surreal moments of a final campaign appearance Thursday – before voters in a district she’s just moved to decide whether they want her representing them in Congress.

Her opponent in Colorado’s 4th congressional district, Richard Holtorf, pawed the ground with his foot before revving up to run the same gauntlet at full speed – presumably in a nod to the livestock his family has reared for three generations. He’d ditched his trademark cowboy hat for a “Freedom” baseball cap.

The two congressional hopefuls participated in the good-natured pool noodle run during the candidate forum of Douglas County Republicans’ Freedom Fellowship – a “Christian, conservative group,” attendees were told during a starting address. “All are welcome here, but in this group we try to advance Christian, conservative principles here in Douglas County.”

Lauren Boebert was dodging foam pool noodles in one of her final campaign appearances

Boebert on the issues: Border security/immigration

18:30 , John Bowden

Another position where Boebert has found herself aligned with many conservatives is immigration — she voted for the impeachment of Joe Biden’s Homeland Security director earlier this year, and has also argued in favor of impeaching Biden himself over the same issue, a supposed failure to enforce US immigration laws.

She, like Donald Trump, also favors a sharp increase in deportations. One piece of legislation she sponsored in March (which, like most of her bills, did not become law) was called the “Build the Wall and Deport Them All Act.”

Boebert also was one of many Republicans who came out against a compromise framework hammered out by Democrats and her own GOP colleagues in the Senate this year.

‘Mama bear blood’: Voters in Boebert’s old district share why they’re fans of infamous rep

18:15 , Sheila Flynn in Grand Junction

Outside of Grand Junction’s popular breakfast spot Sunrise Restaurant on Tuesday, Republican voter Mark Undem had his ballots in the saddlebags of his motorcycle, ready to drop them off after the meal.

He and his friends, Doug Murphy and Duane Jessee, had all been impressed with Boebert.

“She’s got a lot of mama bear blood,” Jessee tells The Independent.

Undem, wearing a Second Amendment shirt, interestingly does not mention Boebert’s gun rights platform.

“She’s a Christian,” he says. “She doesn’t mind speaking her mind.”

“She seems to have no fear, and I respect that. And she’s up against it; she’s in a liberal state. [More] power to her.”

“She knows the Lord,” his friend adds. “Anybody that loves my Lord is going to do the best they can. They might make mistakes, but then they can do their best.”

‘The cattle come first’: Ranch emergency pulls Lauren Boebert’s rival off the campaign trail on primary eve

18:00 , John Bowden

Sometimes, it’s difficult to balance a run for office with one’s personal life.

For Richard Holtorf, it meant a last-minute departure from the campaign trail — right on the eve of congressional primaries across the state of Colorado.

On the eastern plains of the Centennial State, a very unique political battle is playing out. Rep Lauren Boebert, the headline-generating second-term congresswoman and conservative culture warrior is up for “re-election” — just not for her own seat. She’s competing in a crowded Republican primary for the seat currently held by Ken Buck, a retiring member of the House Freedom Caucus. The seat is a comfortably conservative district, a change of pace from Boebert’s current district, the third, which is across the state in Colorado’s mountains and includes the ski town of Aspen.

It’s that image of a conservative bulwark that clearly attracted Boebert to the 4th district, rather than seek re-election in the 3rd.

‘The cattle come first’: Ranch emergency pulls Lauren Boebert’s rival off the trail

Boebert on the issues: Gun control

17:30 , John Bowden

Boebert is a Second Amendment absolutist. Where other Republicans in her party have sought to work with Democrats to pass laws banning domestic abusers from owning guns or allowing authorities to restrict the possession of firearms for those flagged to police as a danger to themselves or others, the congresswoman has fought every step of the way against any restriction to gun ownership in the US.

She has opposed red flag laws, background check law expansions, and attacked members of Congress for hiring their own security while supporting such measures.

Boebert shares rancher ad slamming ‘radical environmentalists’

17:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Where does Lauren Boebert actually stand on the issues?

16:30 , John Bowden

Lauren Boebert’s run for Congress in 2024 is unlike any race she’s run before.

The two-term congresswoman is now being derided by her critics as a carpetbagger, having left the purpleish 3rd district of Colorado for the relatively safer-Republican seat in the 4th district. It’s a clearly political move aimed at protecting her career — though one she and her allies, who include Donald Trump and Mike Johnson, are spinning as being done for the good of the Republican Party.

Her departure from the 3rd district means that the staunchly conservative Boebert will face GOP primary voters on Tuesday in a district where she will be much more popular, or at least tolerated, by the general voting base which has far fewer Democrats than her old district, which included larger urban centers such as Aspen. Even so, she’s facing criticism from opponents in her new primary over votes on issues such as water saving as well as support for Israel.

So where does Boebert stand on the issues as she seeks her first term representing the eastern plains?

Where does Lauren Boebert actually stand on the issues?

‘This is the week that will determine the 2024 election’

15:55 , Joe Sommerlad

Eric Garcia has this on why today’s two primaries, coinciding with Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s first presidential debate of the year on Thursday, make this a pivotal week for the United States.

This is the week that will determine the 2024 election

Boebert’s many scandals and controversies

15:25 , Joe Sommerlad

Here’s an overview of the Republican’s numerous less-than-flattering encounters with the national spotlight.

Lauren Boebert’s many scandals and controversies

Boebert ran her gun themed restaurant for years. The new district she hopes to win has a ‘Shooters’ too

14:55 , Joe Sommerlad

The MAGA zealot shot to fame with her gun-themed restaurant Shooters Grill, where waitresses served customers flouting loaded firearms in hip holsters – and tourists increasingly flocked as the MAGA Republican’s profile rose.

That Shooters, in the appropriately named town of Rifle, shut down two years ago, just as Boebert has begun closing the chapter on the constituency where it’s located and where she’s the incumbent.

Rather than seeking re-election in the 3rd congressional district, Boebert abandoned ship to run in a new constituency eastward – and as luck would have it, there’s another Shooters there.

Here’s more from Sheila Flynn.

Lauren Boebert closed her gun themed restaurant but the new district has a ‘Shooters’

Where does Boebert actually stand on the issues?

14:25 , Joe Sommerlad

John Bowden has this look at where the outspoke Republican stands on the key policy issues, from gun control, immigration and abortion to water usage, an important local concern, as Holtorf’s recent emergency indicates.

Where does Lauren Boebert actually stand on the issues?

Boebert’s likely successor is even more MAGA and extreme than the original

13:55 , Joe Sommerlad

The Donald Trump cheerleader made a leap from Colorado’s 3rd to its 4th congressional district but the man looking to replace her in her old seat, Ron Hanks, is arguably even more conservative than the Beetlejuice-ejectee.

Here’s Sheila Flynn’s profile of Hanks.

Lauren Boebert 2.0 is even more MAGA and extreme than the original

‘The cattle come first’: Ranch emergency pulls Boebert’s rival off the campaign trail on primary eve

13:25 , Joe Sommerlad

Here’s John Bowden’s latest dispatch from Colorado, where GOP candidate Richard Holtorf was forced to head home to tackle a crisis sparked by dry wells on his farmland on the eve of the vote.

‘The cattle come first’: Ranch emergency pulls Lauren Boebert’s rival off the trail

Boebert insists she’s only ‘true conservative’ in race

13:18 , Joe Sommerlad

Here’s the candidate’s latest social media offerings, a last-ditch appeal for support and an endorsement from He Who Shall Not Be Named:

For balance, here’s what her rivals have to say:

Boebert runs ‘American Gladiator’ gauntlet in final campaign appearance

12:55 , Joe Sommerlad

Lauren Boebert danced in red stilettos down a gauntlet of Republicans wielding foam pool noodles in a faux “American Gladiator” event during one of the more surreal moments of a final campaign appearance Thursday – before voters in a district she’s just moved to decide whether they want her representing them in Congress.

Her opponent in Colorado’s 4th congressional district, Richard Holtorf, pawed the ground with his foot before revving up to run the same gauntlet at full speed – presumably in a nod to the livestock his family has reared for three generations.

He’d ditched his trademark cowboy hat for a “Freedom” baseball cap.

The two congressional hopefuls were participating in the good-natured pool noodle run during the candidate forum for Douglas County Republicans’ Freedom Fellowship.

Here’s Sheila Flynn to explain.

Lauren Boebert was dodging foam pool noodles in one of her final campaign appearances

Democrat Jamaal Bowman caught up in most controversial congressional primary in history

12:25 , Joe Sommerlad

Meanwhile, in New York, Democrat Jamaal Bowman’s struggle against an AIPAC-supported primary challenger is about race, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and the future of “The Squad”.

Eric Garcia reports on a campaign that has led to some shocking accusations.

The most controversial primary in history is about Israel, race and Hillary Clinton

MAGA’s Lauren Boebert facing fight for survival in messy Republican primary after switching districts

12:10 , Joe Sommerlad

Colorado’s congressional primaries could end up bringing about the downfall of one of the US’s most scandal-plagued members of the House of Representatives: Lauren Boebert.

If it doesn’t it will be because, as one of her opponents put it, there were too many horses in the race.

Voters will decide the fate of Boebert and other races across the state today.

One way or another, they make their judgment on the long, strange road the far-right Republican congresswoman has taken since her 2022 defeat, after which she became further embroiled in scandals and fled her district.

Here are John Bowden and Sheila Flynn to set the scene.

‘A lot of people here don’t like Boebert’: Get ready for a seriously messy primary

Good morning and welcome!

11:52 , Joe Sommerlad

Hello and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of an all-important primary day in the United States.

Colorado Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert faces voters in her state’s GOP primary election on Tuesday after she fled a tough re-election race to run in a more right-leaning district, only to suffer a scandal-hit campaign and accusations of carpet-bagging.

Boebert, who first planted her MAGA flag in the House of Representatives in 2020, has amassed conservative clout with her attention-seeking antics on Capitol Hill but faced more than her fair share of public embarrassments and setbacks.

She has insisted she made the switch to compete for outgoing Ken Buck’s old seat to ensure another Republican could win her old district, although she almost lost it in 2022, blaming “Hollywood elites” for targeting her.

On Tuesday, Boebert is up against a number of more traditional GOP rivals, including former state senator Jerry Sonnenberg, current state representatives Mike Lynch and Richard Holtorf and parental rights advocate Deborah Flora.

New York Democratic congressman Jamaal Bowman, one of the most liberal members of Congress, is meanwhile also facing a strong primary challenge on Tuesday from moderate county executive George Latimer in a Big Apple race that has turned a spotlight on the party’s divides over the Israel-Hamas war.