DENVER – There’s something about being told to be the incumbent, something about having a political record to stand on or funding to do a campaign that makes it easier to be re-elected.
None of this, however, means that the incumbent is unbeatable in Colorado. Case in point: Lauren Boebert.
The new politician was virtually unknown in 2020 when he managed to defeat Congressman Scott Tipton, who had held the post for 10 years before Boebert.
Republican Congresswoman Boebert is now incumbent and is making her first election as such and her first primary challenge.
The challenger is State Senator Don Corum, a Montrose Republican who works in ranching and mining. Corum’s campaigner told Newsweek in a statement that Boebert is more interested in being “a right-wing celebrity pundit rather than a representative of the people he is paid to represent.”
Corum said on his website that he wants to prioritize politics over politics, saying the rhetoric has no results.
Boebert responded to him in a statement, saying, “He’s a self-serving, super-awake social liberal who would have a much better chance of winning the Democratic nomination.”
However, Boebert is not the only incumbent facing a primary challenge. Congressman Doug Lamborn faces three challenges: Navy veteran Rebecca Keltie, telecommunications CEO Andrew Heaton and state Rep. Dave Williams.
Keltie prides herself on not being a politician. She has served in the Navy for 21 years and is a mother of two. She ran during the last election cycle as a third-party candidate against Lamborn with the Unity party.
Heaton is a candidate for the first time, the CEO of the telecommunications company, Tekniam, and the owner of a medical marijuana dispensary and laboratory.
Williams is a three-term state legislator who has been a vocal critic of the 2020 election results. He has tried unsuccessfully to get his name to appear in the vote as Dave “Let’s Go Brandon” Williams. He is a manufacturing executive who is one of the most conservative voices in the state legislature.
Congressman Ken Buck is also facing a primary challenge at real estate broker Bob Lewis. Lewis describes himself as a conservative constitutionalist. He served on the Elbert County Republican Central Committee and served as the county’s Republican vice president from 2015 to 2020. He is also a real estate broker.
On the Democratic side, MP Diana DeGette also faces a primary challenge in Neal Walia.
Walia is a first-generation American who considers himself a progressive Democrat. He is the son of Indian immigrants who have worked on Capitol Hill for years. He says he was inspired to run because he faces many challenges as people in District 1 come at an affordable price.
“I can’t afford to buy a house in the city that I like. The cost of caring for children is something that actively delays my wife and the ability to start our own family,” Walia said. “I think our communities deserve to have a representative who lives up to the struggles of their members.”
Walia says DeGette took 26 years to try to make a difference, but now it’s time for someone else to give it a shot.
However, all of the incumbents outperformed their primary opponents. For some, they have surpassed the newcomers by hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the case of Buck and Boebert, they outnumbered their political opponents by millions.
But if there’s one thing Boebert himself has demonstrated, it’s that the incumbents aren’t the primary test, so Tuesday’s election could result in a political challenge according to voters.
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What state does Boebert represent?
| The 3rd Congressional District of Colorado | |
|---|---|
| Representatives | Lauren Boebert R-Rifle |
| Distribution | 64.75% rural 35.25% urban |
| Population (2019) | 756,569 |
| Median family income | $ 59,973 |
