Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and the Republican Party have a problem on their hands: The congresswoman’s offensively headline-grabbing ways in Washington have turned her safe Republican seat into a toss-up that promises to be one of the most expensive House races in 2024 — if not in history.
In 2022, Boebert beat local businessman Adam Frisch by a mere 546 votes, but Frisch — who is angling for a rematch — continues to lap her in fundraising for the 2024 cycle.
With a haul of more than $2.6 million for the second quarter, Frisch raked in more than three times Boebert’s roughly $818,000, which she says is because Democrats want to “buy this seat.”
“Democrats would love to have my scalp. They won’t get it,” Boebert told Raw Story. “I’ve got a job to do. Not worried.”
If Boebert isn’t worried yet, Democrats say she should open her eyes. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and the GOP’s tenuous hold on power is dependent on a mere four seat majority. While Democratic party leaders see their easiest path back to the majority winding through states like New York, California or even North Carolina, a pickup is a pickup. And Colorado’s 3rd District is a prime target.
“Democrats can capture it. Obviously, we're down by four seats, so if we can win one seat, that would be very important to win that seat,” Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) told Raw Story.
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During last year’s midterms, Boebert and Frisch combined raised upward of $16 million – the seventh most of any House race nationwide, according to OpenSecrets.
While Frisch took a few months off, he ramped up his 2024 fundraising in February 2023.
Boebert now has $1.44 million cash on hand to Frisch’s $2.49 million, as of June 30. If he keeps up at this pace, he’ll obliterate his midterm fundraising totals, which has senior Democrats such as DeGette smiling.
“Adam Frisch really represents that district quite well. He's moderate. He's a businessman, and I think he'd be great for the third season: fundraising. He never stopped,” DeGette said.
Earlier this year, Boebert was one of a handful of Freedom Caucus members who heckled and booed President Joe Biden during his State of the Union address. Last month, she introduced articles of impeachment against Biden. Boebert is also embroiled in a spat with another far-right congresswoman — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) — who recently called her a “little bitch” on the House floor.
That’s only helped Frisch.
“Fundraising’s not hard when you're in that position,” DeGette said.
Frisch says he has received donations from Democrats in all 50 states. But Republicans say all of Frisch’s outside money will only help Boebert.
“She'll do better this time,” Richard Hudson (R-NC), chairman of the National Republican Campaign Committee told Raw Story. “I’m confident she’ll be reelected, because she works her district.”
While Boebert’s fundraising is lagging behind, the NRCC says it’s prepared to step up and help her.
“Absolutely. We support our incumbents. We’re a member organization,” Hudson said. “That's always been a race on our target list, that we're concerned about and we'll continue to do everything we need to do to help her get reelected.”
Colorado Democrats aren’t counting Boebert out, even as they say she’s in trouble with independent-minded voters in the state.
“She's proven she can fundraise, she's got charisma, but she's tied herself very closely to the MAGA side of the Republican Party and in large parts of Colorado that's not popular,” Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) told Raw Story. “Even on the Western Slope it’s not popular in large portions.”
Hickenlooper also points out that Frisch still has a primary to win. While there’s little competition at the moment, the former governor expects Grand Junction Mayor Anna Stout to challenge Frisch, which he says will only strengthen Democrat’s chances against Boebert in 2024 – regardless of whether she faces Frisch
“Who knows how good Frisch is? He's only run one campaign,” Hickenlooper said. “There's gonna be a primary, and Frisch certainly has a huge head start. He’s got that network put together, and I think Frisch demonstrated that he's got a story to tell. He's got a vision of what he thinks that district needs in representation.”
