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Fort Lupton — Lauren Boebert faced her first major political test in her new Congressional district Thursday night, appearing in a debate with a long list of major Republican opponents and spending much of the night dodging attacks. Ta.
In one particularly poignant moment, state Rep. Mike Lynch of Wellington asked his colleague to define the term carpetbagger.
“The crops may be different in Colorado’s 4th District, but the values are different,” said Boebert, who recently moved her family and political fortunes to the state.
Boebert was one of nine candidates to participate in a debate at the Fort Lupton Recreation Center sponsored by the Weld Republican Women’s Group. The 4th Congressional District, currently represented by retiring U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, is the most favorable Congressional district for Republicans in Colorado, and whoever wins the Republican primary will be able to win in November. There is a high possibility of getting it.
As a result, Boebert switched her re-election bid from the 3rd Congressional District, which is mostly in the western half of the state, to the 4th Congressional District, which is in the eastern half of the state.
“I’m here to get your support. Get your vote,” Boebert said in her opening remarks at the debate. “This is not a coronation.”
And the coronation was not on Thursday.
Boebert faced direct and indirect questions and attacks from the beginning of the debate. State Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, a rancher in far northeastern Colorado, said in his opening remarks that he is a lifelong resident of the district, which stretches across the Eastern Plains to Loveland and Douglas counties. It pointed out.
“This district needs people who understand these issues and have grown up with them,” Sonnenberg said.
Conservative talk radio host Deborah Flora asked Boebert how she could criticize Democratic opponents who lived in one district and ran in another in the last election cycle. Ta..
“My sons and I needed a fresh start,” said Boebert, who recently signed a lease in Weld County. “It’s been very public what family life is like. I’m sorry for bringing that up. I tried to put it in a very pretty package and bring a lot of credit to my ex-husband. But there’s nothing private in my personal life, so it’s out there and my sons need some freedom from what’s been going on.”
Boebert, who arrived at the debate with her grandchildren in tow, appeared to be referring to her ex-husband’s recent arrest on suspicion of domestic violence in Garfield County involving her and her children.
However, the arrest came weeks after she announced her transfer to the 4th District. This was also a politically motivated and beneficial move for her. She won the 3rd District, the nation’s closest race in 2022, by less than 600 votes.
In fact, many neighborhoods in District 4 are closer in terms of road miles to Boebert’s former town of Silt than to the pueblos of District 3.
Boebert tried to stand out from her opponents during the debate and emphasized her work in Congress.
“Everyone (on stage) will speak like a Freedom Caucus member, but only one will govern as a Freedom Caucus member,” she said.
Boebert also expressed support for Donald Trump and falsely claimed that Trump won the 2020 presidential election.
When asked who he would vote for this year in the Republican presidential primary, which would be his “third victory as president,” he answered, “I will vote for President Trump.”
Boebert wasn’t playing defense all night. She attacked Lynch for not being able to possess her gun due to a conviction in her 2022 DUI arrest. The bargain prompted Lynch to ask Carpetbagger a question.
But Lynch wasn’t the only candidate with trouble with the law. Of the nine candidates participating in the election, six, including Boebert, raised their hands when asked who had been arrested in the past, drawing laughter from the candidates and the audience.
Boebert was not the fan favorite in a straw poll of attendees after the debate. She placed fifth among participants, behind Mr. Sonnenberg, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Flora and state Rep. Richard Holtorf.
This unscientific poll only shows the sentiment in the room — and Fort Lupton is not even in the 4th Congressional District, but rather in the adjacent 8th Congressional District.
The Colorado state legislative primary will be held on June 25th.
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