{"id":40814,"date":"2022-05-04T15:07:14","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T21:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/can-lauren-boeberts-national-profile-trump-her-gop-primary-challenger\/"},"modified":"2022-05-04T21:07:14","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T21:07:14","slug":"can-lauren-boeberts-national-profile-trump-her-gop-primary-challenger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/can-lauren-boeberts-national-profile-trump-her-gop-primary-challenger\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Lauren Boebert\u2019s national profile trump her GOP primary challenger?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Republican
Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert at the Colorado Republican State Assembly on April 9. (Hart Van Denburg\/CPR News)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Since her first days in Congress, Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert has not shied away from controversy.<\/p>\n

Her supporters cheer her media-grabbing moves \u2013 from the stylized video she released her first day in office touting her intention to carry her glock in D.C., to carrying a cardboard cutout of Vice President Kamala Harris around on a trip to the southern border.<\/p>\n

But those same actions, most recently her heckling of President Joe Biden during the State of the Union, have many critics arguing she\u2019s unsuitable for office.<\/p>\n

Even as redistricting has made Boebert\u2019s seat a safer Republican one, she faces a number of challengers, including one from her own party, all aimed at the tough task of making this incumbent a one-term congresswoman.<\/p>\n

As the Republican primary heats up, it increasingly mirrors the wider divide that runs through the Republican Party today, nationally and on the Western Slope, between those who like the bombastic style of Trump and the aggressive embrace of social issues, and those hoping for the return of a more Reaganesque party focused on fiscal issues, and less on divisive cultural ones.<\/p>\n

Boebert pitches conservative credentials<\/div>\n

When Boebert announced her reelection last December, she touted her record of standing up for freedom, her constituent work in the district and her conservative credentials. She argued she\u2019s the type of Republican that voters need to send back to Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t just need to take the House back in 2022, but we need to take the House back with fearless conservatives, strong Republicans just like me,\u201d she said at the time.<\/p>\n

Boebert\u2019s campaign did not make her available for an interview before the deadline for this story, but the Trump acolyte has made a name for herself nationally with her social media savvy and strong affiliation with the more radical wings of the party. According to the New York Times<\/em>, her tweets around the Jan. 6 insurrection even concerned some<\/a> Republican leaders at the time.<\/p>\n

For many of her supporters, like unaffiliated voter Bob Clayton of Cortez, that\u2019s just part of her being \u201ca fighter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI like everything about her. She\u2019s tough. She\u2019s for the people. And I agree with just about everything she\u2019s ever done,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Boebert has strong support among the populist wing of the party. And her large social media following has helped fill her campaign coffers. She goes into the primary with more than $2 million cash on hand. She\u2019s also gotten former President Donald Trump\u2019s endorsement for reelection.<\/p>\n

\"Montezuma
Montezuma County GOP Chair Allen Maez. (Caitlyn Kim\/CPR News)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Allen Maez, chair of the Montezuma County GOP, is officially neutral about party primaries, but said voters there \u201cwant someone that will speak up, be seen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to hear people say no,\u201d he explained, sitting in Conservative Grounds, a coffee shop run by the local Republican women\u2019s group where customers can pick up Trump and Boebert paraphernalia along with their lattes. \u201cLauren has said a few times, \u2018Now I\u2019m not going to vote yes on that. That\u2019s just bull crap.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

But as much as they like her combative persona, the Boebert supporters Colorado Public Radio talked with struggled to point to any policy achievements in Congress. Her bills and resolutions, from forest management to impeaching Biden, have not gone anywhere in the Democratic-controlled House.<\/p>\n

Still, some local party establishment leaders, like Mesa County Commissioner Scott McInnis \u2013 who himself held this seat in Congress for more than 10 years \u2013 are bullish about Boebert\u2019s future in office. \u201cYou know another couple of terms, I think she will be one of the most powerful congresspeople in the U.S. Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n

A challenger running from the center<\/div>\n

But for all her popularity, Boebert\u2019s polarizing behavior has also left many GOP voters wishing for something different. Outside a coffee shop in Delta, Republican Mark Schaffer dismissed Boebert as \u201ca lunatic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe doesn\u2019t seem like a traditional Republican at all. She just seems like a bomb thrower to me. So I don\u2019t really have much good to say about her,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Instead, he\u2019s planning to vote for her Republican primary challenger, state Sen. Don Coram.<\/p>\n

Speaking from his hometown of Montrose, Coram said he has a pretty good life and was initially reluctant to jump into a bruising race for Congress, even though people have been encouraging him to do so for over a year.<\/p>\n

\"Republican
Republican state Sen. Don Coram says he\u2019s running for 80% of voters he thinks are in the political center. (Caitlyn Kim\/CPR News)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cFinally it became so overwhelming, and the antics of our current representative \u2013 somebody had to do it and I felt that I had the best chance of doing it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Coram has spent 11 years at the statehouse. He\u2019s known as one of the Capitol\u2019s more moderate Republicans, willing to work with Democrats on issues like improving civics education<\/a> and expanding broadband infrastructure<\/a>. In his run for Congress, he\u2019s touted himself as an effective lawmaker who can work across the aisle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s plenty of those that are frankly fed up with the rhetoric, the hate and division going on in Washington, D.C.,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd they see someone who has actually been able to make accomplishments, do legislation, (and) bring programs back for their district.\u201d<\/p>\n

In contrast, Coram attacks Boebert as \u201call sizzle and no steak,\u201d arguing she\u2019s taken credit for things that she actually voted against<\/a>, such as touting provisions that benefit her district in a recent federal spending bill, despite opposing the overall measure.<\/p>\n

\"Political
Political signs in the Montezuma County GOP office, including for Lauren Boebert and primary challenger Don Coram. (Caitlyn Kim\/CPR News)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
\u2018Lots of mud being slung\u2019<\/div>\n

However, Coram\u2019s long legislative record has also proved a fruitful avenue of attack for Boebert\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n

It launched an attack website as soon as Coram announced his run earlier this year \u2013 a sign that she\u2019s taking his primary challenge seriously.<\/p>\n

Boebert\u2019s campaign claims Coram unjustly enriched himself, by running legislation benefiting the hemp industry, while also owning a hemp growing operation<\/a>. It cites a news conference he held to encourage the public to invest in his company<\/a>, and an anonymous request for an ethics investigation <\/a>into whether he improperly sponsored legislation to benefit himself.<\/p>\n

Checks with the Colorado Attorney General\u2019s office indicate no complaint was ever officially filed there. And if one was ever submitted to the state\u2019s Independent Ethics Commission, it was dismissed too early in the process to be reported. The office only names when a complaint is deemed non-frivolous.<\/p>\n

Coram has come out swinging against these claims.<\/p>\n

\u201cLies, lies, lies, and damn lies,\u201d he said. \u201cFrankly, I would wish that she would actually talk about policies, issues and solutions rather than have to lie her way through, to try to get the vote.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, her campaign is working hard to get these accusations in front of primary voters; CPR News saw one of these attack fliers on display in the Pueblo County GOP offices.<\/p>\n

Rob Leverington, chair of the Pueblo County Republicans, said any campaign can drop off literature. \u201cI\u2019m sure there will be lots of mud being slung from side to side. You\u2019ve already saw some out here with Congresswoman Boebert\u2019s campaign literature. So, that\u2019s why we have elections.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boebert, herself, has come under ethics scrutiny during her time in the House. A Democratic lawmaker filed a complaint over her actions leading up to Jan. 6 that was eventually dismissed<\/a>, and Muslim and Jewish groups also asked the ethics committee<\/a> to look into comments she made about Rep. Ilhan Omar. She has also faced criticism for questionable mileage reimbursements<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Pueblo
Pueblo County GOP chair Robert Leverington says Republicans in the county have a lot of different opinions on a lot of different issues. (Caitlyn Kim\/CPR News)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
GOP voters weigh their options<\/div>\n

In Montezuma County, Allan and Carla Thayer are lifelong conservative Republicans. She homeschooled their children, their daughter open carries, they have a son in the military. Carla Thayer has reservations about both candidates.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not like the way Coram goes across the aisle. He goes way too many times. But there are a few things I\u2019ve seen in Bobert that have me concerned also,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

Sitting in their kitchen you get a sense of their principles. Carla didn\u2019t vote for Biden and does not support his policies, but she still thinks people should be respectful of the office when he is speaking, and not go \u201cscreaming and hollering\u201d \u2013 a reference to Boebert\u2019s outburst during the State of the Union.<\/p>\n

But more substantively, she wants to hear what each candidate is running for, not just how much they can trash one another.<\/p>\n

Allan Thayer has voted for both Boebert and Coram in the past. As a member of the Republican Central Committee for the county he can\u2019t support either candidate in the primary, but he summed up the challenge that Coram faces in this conservative corner of the district: \u201cIt\u2019s not that he\u2019s not popular. It\u2019s just, Lauren Boebert is more popular.\u201d<\/p>\n

To get on the ballot Coram collected signatures, allowing him to avoid the assembly process, which Boebert ended up essentially sweeping. The two campaigns are currently negotiating primary debates. He pitched four, she countered with two.<\/p>\n

Making the Pitch, one unaffiliated voter at a time<\/div>\n

When it comes to wooing voters, Coram is aiming for what he describes as the \u201c80% in the middle,\u201d those who are tired of extremes in both parties.<\/p>\n

Primaries usually bring out a party\u2019s most passionate base, but Coram is hoping to appeal to the largest bloc of voters in the district: those who are unaffiliated. Under state law, they\u2019ll get both Democratic and Republican ballots, but are only allowed to return one.<\/p>\n

In Cedaredge, a small community located in a valley on the eastern end of Delta County, lifelong GOP voter Dennis Grunkemeyer said newcomers to the party have called him a RINO for his more traditionally Republican approach to issues. However, he considers them the ones who are Republicans In Name Only.<\/p>\n

Grunkmeyer is no fan of Boebert and is glad that Coram got into the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started promoting him among my friends,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Dennis
Dennis Grunkemeyer of Clearedge has been a lifelong Republican. Disheartened by the current GOP congresswoman, he\u2019s throwing his support behind GOP primary challenger Don Coram, and encouraging others to do the same. (Caitlyn Kim\/CPR News)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Those friends include David Starr, who walked into the coffee shop as Grunkmeyer was talking with CPR. Starr is a musician and business owner in Cedaredge. He\u2019s politically unaffiliated and worried about what he calls real world issues \u2013 taxes, inflation and paying for gas. He doesn\u2019t see Boebert as part of the solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got a lot of friends who are pretty far right of me politically. Not one of them can explain to me or point out to me one good thing that she\u2019s done for this district or for the state of Colorado,\u201d he said. \u201cThey say, \u2018Oh, she\u2019s funny. She\u2019s cool. She\u2019s cute.\u2019 Well, that\u2019s just, that\u2019s just a clown show. That\u2019s all Vegas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starr hasn\u2019t decided yet whether he will vote in the primary. He said he generally likes to vote for positive reasons, not against someone. This is when Grunkmeyer chimed in.<\/p>\n

Sure, he conceded a vote for Coram could be viewed as just a vote against Boebert, but then he added, \u201cI think we need somebody there that at least has the experience and the ability. He\u2019s known in the Colorado Legislature as being a compromiser \u2026 being willing to talk to the Democrats over issues that are important to his district.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starr left the conversation saying he will look into Coram some more.<\/p>\n

\"Trump
Trump and Boebert items for sale at Conservative Grounds, a coffee shop in Cortez run by Republican women. (Caitlyn Kim\/CPR News)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Some Democrats seek to have a say<\/div>\n

In a district that has been represented by a Republican since 2010, and now tilts even more in the party\u2019s favor after redistricting, some Democrats are also considering switching to unaffiliated.<\/p>\n

Joe Padon, a teacher in the heavily Republican Mesa County, was a Democrat until a couple of months ago, when he decided he was done feeling like he didn\u2019t have much of a say in who the district\u2019s representative would be. \u201cI wanted to vote in whichever primary I could. And in this case, this year (it\u2019s) the Republican primary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Padon said he wants a congressperson who is \u201crealistic.\u201d He got the idea to switch affiliation from friends, but it wasn\u2019t until he and his mother-in-law were talking about it that they both decided to make the change.\u201d<\/p>\n

At a Democratic event in Montrose, a number of attendees said they knew people who switched, and a few had even went through with it themselves.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear how many Democrats have made the change. Voter data released by the state do not show dramatic changes in voter registration numbers in recent months.<\/p>\n

For many Republicans, like Carla Thayer in Montezuma, the idea that Democrats would drop their affiliation to vote in her party\u2019s primary doesn\u2019t feel fair at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s crazy. You know? I mean, \u2018cause they\u2019re just gonna put in who they want,\u201d she said. \u201cThey can come in, vote who they want to and then ruin our side of it. So we\u2019re stuck with somebody that we don\u2019t even want.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Conservative
Conservative Republicans Carla and Allan Thayer in their home in Dolores. (Caitlyn Kim\/CPR News)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A group of Colorado Republicans sued earlier this year to try to close party primaries to unaffiliated voters, but the case was tossed<\/a> out. It\u2019s an argument Boebert supports; she said in a statement, \u201cMembers of various political parties should choose their nominees in a closed primary system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some local Democratic leaders are questioning the wisdom of the idea too, concerned it could drain voters from their own contested primaries up and down the ballot.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are gonna switch over to vote for one person \u2013 against Lauren Boebert,\u201d said Scott Beilfuss, co-chair of the Mesa County Democratic Party. \u201cBut \u2026 the Democrats have some important races in their primaries.\u201d<\/p>\n

For all the now-former Democrats who fear the stakes are too high to stay in the party in a district that favors Republicans by 9 points, there are still current party members who argue the best way to beat Boebert or Coram is to elect the best Democratic candidate they can for the race.<\/p>\n

Talking with Padon, even he has doubts that there are enough like-minded unaffiliated voters in CD3 to make the change that he wants to see happen. \u201cI don\u2019t know that it will be, but I can hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

To read more stories from Colorado Public Radio, visit www.cpr.org<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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