DENVER (AP) – The third district of the Colorado Congress, a stretch of ski resorts, national forests, ranches, coal cities and Pennsylvania-sized desert tables, has long raised discreet politicians.
Its voters have deviated slightly to the right, a popular practice, and for years have rewarded representatives for successes below the national radar, such as the Beautiful Creek Watershed Act, a culminating success of former Republican Rep. Scott Tipton.
Bye now.
The youngest representative in the district, Republican Lauren Boebert, is a brazen and intelligent loyalist of former President Donald Trump who, like her first-term partner, GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, arouses controversy with their far-right views and defiant actions. But unlike Greene, Boebert doesn’t come from a safe, overwhelming GOP district.
This makes Boebert a test case as to whether even a slight partisan advantage will inevitably potentiate the most extreme elements of a party. The question that strategists in Colorado and other places in this divided country ask themselves is whether Boebert is a mistake or the future.
“Are we so closed, so partisan, that they overshadow everything, even in these nearby neighborhoods?” asked Floyd Ciruli, a veteran Colorado pollster. “Taking out such controversial forces and taking out a headline was not dangerous, even in a district like this.”
Boebert, 34, who owns a gun-themed restaurant in the town of Rifle, began making waves immediately. In his first month in office, he filmed a video in which he sought to carry a gun in violation of the District of Columbia’s anti-wrestling laws, defended the right to carry firearms on the floor of the House, and voted to cancel the election. of President Joe Biden. and tweeted about the whereabouts of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Jan. 6, and sparked allegations (which she vehemently denies) that helped Trump loyalists attack the U.S. Capitol.
His first political taste arose in response to the polarization on the other side of the corridor. In 2019, former Texas Representative Beto O’Rourke, who was running for the Democratic presidential candidacy, vowed to ban assault weapons. He held an event in the Denver suburb, Aurora, near the site of the 2012 Aurora Theater massacre.
Boebert drove four hours from his home in Rifle to confront O’Rourke for his statement that “hell, yes,” he was taking AR-15. “Damn, no, you’re not,” he said.
Cristy Fidura, 43, who with her husband, a former oil field worker, owns a truck company in the former steel city of Pueblo, never engaged in politics, until she saw this confrontation . She soon became one of Boebert’s earliest supporters.
“I could relate to her, just like President Trump. He’s not a politician and she’s not a politician, and running this country is a business,” Fidura said. “I think so many people are convinced the government should take decisions for them and I think it’s sad, it’s scary. ”
Marla Reichert, the outgoing president of the Pueblo County POP, said district voters have long wanted someone to vote for them in Washington and tell Democrats “hell, no” to exceed them.
Tipton, a five-term president who was disturbed by Boebert in last year’s GOP primaries, “voted the right way. People just felt like he wasn’t there fighting Democrats. He wasn’t on Fox News, stepping back, ”Reichert said.
In an interview, Boebert said district voters are eager for the disruption. “My constituents are fed up with old people having a good time behaving well that we often see in politicians,” he said.
Boebert insists she and other first-term lawmakers are the future, even in districts like hers.
“It’s the America First movement you see nationally and definitely in my district,” he said.
Josh Penry, a veteran Republican strategist who represented the area at the Colorado State House, is skeptical that Boebert’s style will adhere.
“There are very real limits to this rural area of Colorado, so it only won with 51%,” Penry said. “When the fuss is over, there are large blocs of voters who will be totally ready and want to know that their congresswoman is trying to be part of the solution between the successes of the newscasts.”
Boebert defeated his Democratic opponent 51% to 45% in November. There are more Republican registered voters than Democrats, although the larger bloc is not affiliated and the district is gaining retirees and refugees from urban areas leaning to the left.
Democrats are lining up possible challenges for 2022. While the state Republican party has embraced Boebert, some in the Republican Party are whispering about a possible primary challenge.
The biggest threat may be redistricting. By 2022, a non-partisan commission will have redrawn the boundaries of Boebert District, which could become more Democratic or more Republican with the inclusion of some neighboring communities.
Boebert’s first bills as congressman, opposing Biden’s mask protection mandate on federal properties and withholding funds to join Paris Paris agreement and World Health Organization , they will not go anywhere. But industry-dependent voters have embraced their denunciation of Biden’s pause in oil and gas drilling on federal lands, which comprise 55% of the district.
Republicans here have praise and warnings for the congresswoman.
Scott McInnis, a former six-term Republican congressman in the district, said the high-voltage partisan war is not working for voters in the region. “You need to have good communication with local communities so that you can quickly provide what they need from the federal government, whether it’s a cattle grazing permit or a skiing permit,” he said.
Janet Rowland, a Mesa County commissioner who advised Boebert on her campaign, said Boebert must continue to fight the Biden administration’s efforts to suspend drilling on federal land. He praised Boebert, but said the new congresswoman should work with the Biden administration when she can, and oppose it when necessary.
“Our residents are fed up with the ongoing attacks on both sides,” Rowland said. “Biden won. He is our president. Let’s get started. “