Frisch announces 2024 challenge against Rep. Boebert
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Aspenite Democrat Adam Frisch will challenge U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Silt, for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District seat again in 2024, following the nation’s closest congressional election in the 2022 midterms.
He announced his intent to run again on Tuesday morning via an online statement.
“November’s election results show us that Boebert is weak and will be defeated, which is why I have decided to launch my 2024 congressional campaign. Despite her near-loss in a district that favored Republicans by 9 points, Boebert has only doubled down on her divisive antics, attention-seeking, and angertainment that does nothing to benefit the people of Southern and Western Colorado,” Frisch said. “When elected, I will join the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus to find solutions and deliver results for the families, businesses, and communities in this district.”
Gunnison County veterinarian Debby Burnett also announced her intent to run for the congressional seat in 2024 earlier this month. She also ran in 2022 but fell short of appearing on the final ballot after failing to win enough votes in the primary.
The new term only began just over a month ago, Jan. 7. With the early announcements of campaigns came an early start to the campaign rhetoric.
National Republican Congressional Committee regional spokesperson Delanie Bomar shared a statement with The Times via email: “For years Democrats like Aspen Adam Frisch have attacked Colorado’s oil and gas industry. Frisch’s far-left campaign is dead on arrival.”
Multiple pollsters designated the 27-county district safely in Republican control ahead of the 2022 midterms, but the race ended up the closest of the midterm elections nationwide.
Boebert edged out a victory over the former Aspen City Council member, winning by just 546 votes out of a total of 327,285 votes cast. Colorado law mandated an automatic recount due to the closeness of the election, which was completed Dec. 12.
Frisch had already conceded the election to Boebert before the final recount.
When Boebert was elected in 2020, she beat Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush of Routt County with 51.4% of the vote to Mitsch Bush’s 45.2%.
A Democrat has not held the 3rd Congressional District House seat since the election of John Salazar in 2008.
Boebert’s firebrand conservatism attracted critics and diehard supporters in her district and across the country. She supported a nationwide abortion ban and openly suggested there shouldn’t be a separation of church and state, the Glenwood Springs Post Independent reported.
Frisch ran as a moderate Democrat friendly to energy and small business. He also said during his campaign that he would prioritize consensus building and working across the aisle to find compromises.
He will hold an in-person launch event in Pueblo on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Pueblo Union Depot.
