WASHINGTON (AP) — Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, one of the most polarizing members of Congress, easily beat back a challenge from a more mainstream Republican to clinch her primary Tuesday.
Boebert, a first-term firebrand, saw her GOP-leaning 3rd Congressional District in western Colorado become even more Republican after redistricting. She had little trouble with moderate state Rep. Don Coram, a rancher and hemp farmer, who slams what he calls Boebert’s extremism.
READ MORE: Colorado Republicans back election denier for Senate primary
Coram had argued that the incumbent’s fealty to Trump has meant neglect of her sprawling territory’s all-important agriculture issues as she seeks social and conservative media celebrity. Boebert has railed against the “Biden regime” and “socialist” Democrats. She also trumpets her gun-toting Second Amendment credentials and opposition to COVID-19 restrictions that briefly shuttered her “Shooters” restaurant.
Boebert criticized Coram for working with legislative Democrats. Her opponent was betting voters alienated by Boebert’s provocations will choose someone more in the tradition of centrists that have played well in the area, including five-term Republican Rep. Scott Tipton, who lost to Boebert in an upset last cycle. It didn’t resonate.
Also Tuesday, in Colorado’s deeply conservative El Paso County, eight-term Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn faces a challenge from the right from state Rep. Dave Williams for his 5th Congressional District seat. Williams failed to get the phrase “Let’s Go Brandon,” code for an obscenity against Biden, added to his name on the ballot.
Lamborn, who faces an ongoing House ethics investigation over whether he misused official resources for personal purposes, has survived primary challenges in the past as an ardent opponent of abortion and backer of the significant U.S. military presence in Colorado Springs. Earlier this year, Williams led a 24-hour filibuster in the statehouse over a bill allowing unrestricted access to abortion. The bill eventually became law.