{"id":46479,"date":"2021-06-01T17:52:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T23:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/will-unaffiliated-voters-re-elect-u-s-rep-lauren-boebert\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:32:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:32:03","slug":"will-unaffiliated-voters-re-elect-u-s-rep-lauren-boebert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/will-unaffiliated-voters-re-elect-u-s-rep-lauren-boebert\/","title":{"rendered":"Will unaffiliated voters re-elect U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lauren Boebert is best known for her far-right Republican views.<\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t Republicans who were solely responsible for sending the Garfield County woman to Congress, a Colorado Sun analysis of voter registration data and the 2020 election results shows. Unaffiliated voters, who since at least February 2019 have made up the largest voting bloc in Boebert\u2019s 3rd Congressional District, were the deciding factor in her victory last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like what she says,\u201d said Joshua Burt, a 43-year-old unaffiliated voter in Rangely. \u201cSometimes, she\u2019s just a little too extreme, but she\u2019s a good person. I would definitely vote for her again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unaffiliated voters are often perceived in Colorado as being left-leaning, or, at the very least, moderate. But the 3rd District, which stretches across the Western Slope and into Pueblo, proves the theory isn\u2019t universally applicable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that this fairy tale of the very liberal, young unaffiliated voter is not necessarily true,\u201d said Lori Weigel, a Republican pollster who leads the Colorado firm New Bridge Strategy. \u201cThe millennial from another state that just moved in and registers as unaffiliated \u2013 there\u2019s definitely many of them. But there\u2019s not as many of them in the 3rd Congressional District.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The Sun\u2019s data analysis shows that if Democrats want a chance to oust Boebert next year, they should focus on winning over and turning out more unaffiliated voters. But it\u2019s a tricky group to persuade, given that many unaffiliated voters often have a partisan preference. In the 3rd District, that preference is more often than not Republican.<\/p>\n

That means Democrats must find a way not just to activate unaffiliated voters, but they must activate the correct unaffiliated voters or find a way to persuade those already loyal to the Republican congresswoman to change their minds.<\/p>\n

The Sun teamed up with several newspapers in cities across the sprawling 3rd District to interview unaffiliated voters, selected at random from the state\u2019s voter rolls, to learn what motivates them at the ballot box and how they feel about Boebert. The voters were asked a standard set of questions about their political leanings and the issues that matter most to them.<\/p>\n

In Congress, Boebert is battling public lands expansions and fighting to halt President Joe Biden\u2019s environmental agenda. But unaffiliated voters who support the congresswoman generally said they like Boebert because of her staunch defense of the Second Amendment and because they don\u2019t think Democrats have offered up a good alternative.<\/p>\n

Those who oppose Boebert think she is too conservative and dislike what they view as her blind allegiance to former President Donald Trump. They\u2019d like to see her focus instead on the public health effects of COVID-19 and moving the country past the pandemic.<\/p>\n

There are also voters who said they supported Boebert in 2020 but are on the fence about doing so again after her controversial first months in office and the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol that came as she spread false claims about last year\u2019s presidential election results.<\/p>\n

\u2018People do have partisan feelings even if they don\u2019t necessarily want to check a box\u2019<\/div>\n

Of the roughly 513,000 active, registered voters in the 3rd District, 40% are unaffiliated, 32% are Republicans and 27% are Democrats. The rest are affiliated with third parties.<\/p>\n

Boebert handily beat Democratic former state Rep. Diane Mitsch Bush in 2020, with 51% of the vote compared with Mitsch Bush\u2019s 45%.<\/p>\n\n

The unaffiliated-heavy lean isn\u2019t unusual among Colorado\u2019s seven congressional districts. In fact only one \u2013 Denver Democrat Diana DeGette\u2019s 1st District \u2013 isn\u2019t dominated by unaffiliated voters.<\/p>\n

About 40% of Colorado\u2019s registered voters are unaffiliated.<\/p>\n

But in the two other congressional districts represented by Republicans \u2013 Doug Lamborn\u2019s 5th District centered on Colorado Springs and Ken Buck\u2019s 4th District on the Eastern Plains \u2013 the percentage gap between Republican voters and Democratic voters is greater than what it is in the 3rd District.<\/p>\n

In the 4th District, Republicans represent 47% of active, registered voters versus Democrats at 21%. In the 5th District, Republicans represent 36% of active, registered voters compared with Democrats at 20%.<\/p>\n\n

On paper, it appears that if unaffiliated voters in the 3rd District voted the way their counterparts do in Aurora, Boulder, Denver and Broomfield counties, Boebert likely would not be in Congress. (The district\u2019s lines will be redrawn ahead of the 2022 election.)<\/p>\n

Weigel, the Republican pollster, said age and location can help determine if an unaffiliated voter leans left or right on the political spectrum. And, she points out, just because someone is registered as unaffiliated, it doesn\u2019t mean they don\u2019t have a partisan preference.<\/p>\n

Coloradans are automatically registered to vote as an unaffiliated when they get their driver\u2019s license. They can choose a party later through a follow-up mailer sent by the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople do have partisan feelings even if they don\u2019t necessarily want to check a box and say they are one party or another,\u201d Weigel said. \u201cThey do tend to associate with one party or another, no matter what box they checked on a form.\u201d<\/p>\n

Take Stephanie Cooper, a 38-year-old unaffiliated voter in Grand Junction, as an example.<\/p>\n

\u201cI lean more conservative \u2026 so I vote for more Republicans,\u201d she said. Cooper has been unaffiliated for about a decade and is registered that way because she doesn\u2019t \u201clike the direction that either major party is going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democrats battling to unseat Boebert next year say they, too, are learning it\u2019s a mistake to assume all unaffiliated voters are equal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we assumed that they are more moderate and that might not be an assumption we want to make,\u201d said James Iacino, a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully in the 3rd District in 2020 and is now his party\u2019s chairman in the district.<\/p>\n

Iacino said he and other Democrats are talking to unaffiliated voters across the 3rd District to learn from their mistakes in recent election cycles and seek a path to victory. His first challenge is to identify which unaffiliated voters may lean to the left. But it\u2019s more nuanced than just that.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you get those unaffiliated, left-leaning folks activated while not getting those unaffiliated, right-leaning folks activated?\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Mitsch Bush even tried to market herself as an \u201cindependent\u201d last year, but that didn\u2019t work to persuade unaffiliated voters.<\/p>\n

The 3rd District has been represented by a Republican since Scott Tipton unseated Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. John Salazar in the 2010 election. Tipton held the seat until Boebert ousted him in the 2020 GOP primary.<\/p>\n

Boebert\u2019s proponents believe that the congresswoman can attract moderate voters \u2013 and even some Democrats \u2013 by speaking to them about the issues they care about. Her backstory of being raised by a single mom, getting pregnant young and working her way up the economic ladder also resonates, Boebert\u2019s supporters say.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t seem to matter who we talk to, most people absolutely adore her,\u201d said Alamosa County GOP Chairwoman Cheryl O\u2019Dowd. \u201cThey like the fact that she\u2019s willing to stand up and let her voice be heard. She\u2019s willing to stand up for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lauren
Lauren Boebert, Republican candidate for Colorado\u2019s 3rd Congressional District, speaks during a get-out-the-vote-rally at the Grand Junction Motor Speedway in Grand Junction on Nov. 2, 2020. The event was hosted by the Mesa County GOP and was also attended by Sen. Cory Gardner. (Barton Glasser, Special to The Colorado Sun)<\/span>Barton Glasser, Special to The Colorado Sun<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Polling suggests there\u2019s some truth to that theory, but really only when it comes to unaffiliated voters.<\/p>\n

A March 1-4 poll of 500 registered voters in the 3rd District conducted by Global Strategy Group, a Democratic pollster, revealed that 41% of those surveyed have a favorable view of Boebert while 39% have an unfavorable view of her. The poll had a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what the results were by partisan voter registration:<\/p>\n

When it comes to Democrats, 10% said they have a favorable view of her, while 73% said they have an unfavorable view of her.<\/div>\n
Among unaffiliated and third-party voters, 36% said they have a favorable view of her, while 42% have an unfavorable view of her.<\/div>\n
72% of Republican voters said they have a favorable view of Boebert, while 15% said they have an unfavorable view of her.<\/div>\n
\u2018Somebody like Lauren will help put the train back on the tracks\u2019<\/div>\n

Vincent Ehrnriter, a 55-year-old unaffiliated voter in Grand Junction, has never registered for one party or another. \u201cI prefer to call myself an independent,\u201d he said. \u201cI am an educated person. I can make my own decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ehrnriter said he has voted Republican for the past 12 years, including \u201cright down the ticket\u201d in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe can be a little loud, but her points are valid,\u201d he said of Boebert. \u201cSomebody like Lauren will help put the train back on the tracks.\u201d<\/p>\n

The issue that matters most to Ehrnriter is ensuring his vote is protected. He said his vote and the 2020 U.S. election were \u201cstolen.\u201d (There is no proof of widespread election fraud in 2020 that would have overturned the results of the presidential contest.)<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this isn\u2019t fixed, we have no more country,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Max Lord, a 29-year-old unaffiliated voter who lives in Aspen and works as an audio engineer, voted for Boebert last year. He said his main issue is gun rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy to see her in the House,\u201d Lord said. \u201cI think she might have taken the job without knowing the difficulties of it. But I applaud her ability to handle it for all the (flak) she gets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frederick Engebretson, a 74-year-old unaffiliated voter in Whitewater, about 10 miles south of Grand Junction, also likes Boebert\u2019s views on guns.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I know about her is what I saw on TV. She has a restaurant and she had been arrested,\u201d he said. \u201cOne thing I know I like about her is that she is very pro-Second Amendment, as am I.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 made Engebretson rethink his views on Boebert. He said he\u2019s not sure if he would vote for her in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince the riot, I have mixed feelings about her,\u201d he said. \u201cThere was talk going around that she sided with all those morons. Whether that\u2019s factual, I don\u2019t know, but it has raised some questions with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Frederick
Frederick Engebretson is an unaffiliated voter in Mesa County, who lives on Reeder Mesa near Whitewater outside Grand Junction. Engebretson likes Rep. Lauren Boebert\u2019s views on guns and voted for her in November. But the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol has him rethinking his support. He\u2019s not sure he will vote for her in 2022. (Courtesy of The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, via The Colorado Sun)<\/span>Christopher Tomlinson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

It\u2019s voters like Engebretson who Democrats will have to try to win over in 2020. Richard Hirano, 57, a printer repairman in Craig, is another example of the kind of voters liberals may target to oust Boebert from her seat.<\/p>\n

Hirano, changed his registration to unaffiliated from Republican, voted for Trump in 2020, saying he was the lesser of two evils. He\u2019s not sure if he will vote for Boebert in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has said some really stupid things,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is the problem with Trump, too, I think sometimes they just need to keep their mouths shut and focus on the issues, but they put too much of their opinions out there, which forces us center people to question why we voted for them in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bill Crosby, 38, an insurance agent in Steamboat Springs, is still trying to make up his mind about Boebert.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would consider voting for her in 2022, depending on how she shows herself for the next year and a half, and depending on how things look nationally at that point,\u201d he said. \u201cShe has definitely spoken her mind, for better and for worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I don\u2019t agree with the way she has handled herself\u2019<\/div>\n

While there are 3rd District unaffiliated voters who either support or are on the fence when it comes to Boebert, there are plenty who also vehemently oppose her.<\/p>\n

Tim Taplin, 54, a software developer and school board member in Ridgway, said he thinks Boebert has \u201cbeen more of a disaster than anyone thought she could be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely tend to be more on the liberal side of things,\u201d he said. But he\u2019s looking for the right candidate to represent him in the U.S. House, not just one who isn\u2019t Boebert.<\/p>\n

Taplin voted for Mitsch Bush, Boebert\u2019s Democratic opponent, in 2020, though he wasn\u2019t \u201ca huge fan\u201d because she was \u201cprobably too extreme in her views and not really willing to work the middle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Diane
Diane Mitsch Bush, a Democratic candidate in Colorado\u2019s 3rd Congressional District, speaks to supporters during a rally in Montrose on Oct. 27, 2018. (William Woody, Special to The Colorado Sun)<\/span>William Woody, Special to The Colorado Sun<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cIt\u2019s picking how to take the next step forward and who\u2019s going to do a better job moving things forward, even if their approach is not the one you\u2019d like,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty obvious that our current representative is not interested in that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jody Meakins, a 72-year-old retired teacher and unaffiliated voter who lives in Meeker, said she is turned off by Boebert. \u201cI don\u2019t like that she struts around with a gun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meakins biggest concerns are education and infrastructure. When asked if she would vote for Boebert, Meakins said: \u201cHell no. Never.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anthony Medved, a 37-year-old building inspector in Durango, said he would \u201cnever vote for (Boebert).\u201d He backed President Joe Biden in 2020, but said he typically casts votes for both Democrats and Republicans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat sticks out to me (is) she\u2019s far right,\u201d Medved said of Boebert.<\/p>\n

Medved\u2019s sentiment was a recurring theme in the discussions the Sun and its partners had with unaffiliated voters.<\/p>\n

Sara Francis, a 42-year-old records management specialist in Battlement Mesa, called Boebert a \u201cTrump loyalist.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that she rage-tweets much like former President Trump did,\u201d said Francis, who voted for Mitsch Bush last year.<\/p>\n

\"Unaffiliated
Unaffiliated voter Sara Francis, who lives in Battlement Mesa, says Rep. Lauren Boebert is a \u201cTrump loyalist.\u201d (The Glenwood Springs Post Independent, via The Colorado Sun)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A 76-year-old unaffiliated voter in Pueblo, who asked that his name not be used, said he thinks Boebert is \u201cjust so Trumpian and anti-democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joseph Buckley, an unaffiliated voter in Crestone who is in his late 60s, dislikes his congresswoman and would not vote for her in 2022 for the same reason. He was especially upset about \u201cher whole radical act and being basically a blind Trump supporter during the insurrection.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t agree with her policies,\u201d said Buckley, who said he decides who to vote for based on the candidate and not their party. \u201cI don\u2019t agree with the way she has handled herself in the Republican Party.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colorado Sun correspondents Carrie Osgood, Sandra Fish, Sue McMillin and Nancy Lofholm contributed to this report. Also contributing reporting were: Jason Auslander of The Aspen Times; Dylan Anderson of Steamboat Pilot & Today; Erin McIntyre and Liz Teitz of The Ouray County Plaindealer; Niki Turner, Lucas Turner, and Sophia Goedert of The Rio Blanco Herald Times; John LaConte of The Vail Daily; Ray K. Erku of The Glenwood Springs Post Independent; and Patrick Armijo of The Durango Herald.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Democratic leaders ponder how to engage left-leaning, unaffiliated voters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[981,233,28,1722],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-46479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-colorado-3rd-congressional-district","tag-coloradosun-com","tag-headlines","tag-regional-elections"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46479"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86895,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46479\/revisions\/86895"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46479"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=46479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}