Republican Jeff Hurd defeated Democrat Adam Frisch in Colorado’s vast 3rd Congressional District, strengthening the Republican side and returning soft representation to the district after the departure of Lauren Boebert.
The race was too close to happen on election night, but it was clear Wednesday morning Hurd would win.
Frisch, a former Aspen city councilman, admitted to Hurd, a Grand Junction attorney, on Wednesday around 3:30 p.m. At the time, Hurd had 50% of the vote, compared to Frisch’s 47%.
“While we did not win, I believe this campaign was part of an important movement to try to lower the political temperature and start focusing on the real challenges facing communities like those in CD3,” Frisch said in a written statement . “Ordinary people are tired of partisan politics as usual, and the vast majority of people consider themselves primarily Coloradans – not Republicans or Democrats – who want both parties to stop the petty arguments and political grandstanding and start working together to improve everyone’s opinion. lives better.”
Hurd’s victory in the 3rd District, which stretches from the Western Slope to Pueblo and southeastern Colorado, is good news for Republicans as they look to maintain their majority in the House of Representatives, which gives the GOP total control over the federal government would provide.
Meanwhile, the loss marks the second straight failure for Frisch in the 3rd District, where the former Aspen city councilwoman nearly dethroned Republican American Lauren Boebert in 2022. Boebert, who currently represents the 3rd District, switched to the 4th Congressional District on the other side of the state to seek re-election this year – and won. Hurd entered the race before her move, hoping to oust her in the primaries.
Adam Frisch of Aspen makes the rounds at his election watch party on Tuesday, November 5, 2024 at Belly Up Aspen. Frisch, a Democrat, ran against Republican Jeff Hurd in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District. (Austin Colbert, The Aspen Times)
Frisch raised millions of dollars on Boebert’s unpopularity and used his campaign war chest the size of Mount Sopris this election cycle to dominate the airwaves heading into Election Day. Hurd raised a fraction of the money Frisch brought in.
But in the end, the Republican side of the district could not be overcome.
During Colorado’s 2021 redistricting process, the 3rd District would lean an estimated 9 percentage points in favor of the Republican Party. Boebert erased that advantage with her unpopularity. But Hurd was able to take advantage of that side by running as an old-fashioned Republican.
“A reporter once said I’m as exciting as a bun,” Hurd said during a debate with Frisch. ‘That’s okay. Rural Colorado doesn’t need any excitement.”
The 3rd District did not elect a Democrat to Congress in 2008, the last time U.S. Rep. John Salazar won. Salazar was ousted in 2010.
Hurd and Frisch share many of the same policy views. The main difference between the candidates is their position on abortionwith Frisch opposing any government restrictions on the procedure and Hurd saying there should be some restrictions, but not imposed by the federal government.
Democrat Adam Frisch and Republican Jeff Hurd, candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives for Colorado District 3, shake hands during a candidates forum in Montrose on Oct. 9, 2024. (William Woody, Special to The Colorado Sun)
The Democrats tried to increase Frisch’s chances by sending a mailer to voters in the 3rd District, which appeared intended to convince them to support the Libertarian candidate in the race in order to siphon support from Hurd. The postal piece from the Colorado Democratic Party included a photo of James Wiley and labeled the Pueblo libertarian “the strongest Trump supporter in the race.” It also included a photo of Hurd and called him “a corporate lawyer who won’t take a position on immigration or Trump.”
Wiley had 2.5% of the vote when Frisch conceded.
Super PACs spent $1.1 million supporting Hurd and $627,000 supporting Frisch.
The Congressional Leadership Fund, a Republican super PAC tied to House Speaker Mike Johnson, poured more than $300,000 into the race to help Hurd in the final weeks of the campaign. It was a sign that the race was heating up. American for Prosperity Action spent nearly $740,000 on the general election after helping Hurd win a six-way Republican primary in June.
Meanwhile, Project 218 PAC, a Democratic group funded by a list of wealthy donorsspent more than $450,000 to help Frisch leading up to Election Day, much of it on TV advertising.
At his campaign watch party in Grand Junction on Tuesday, Hurd promised to be “serious, hardworking, prepared and accessible to the media.”
“I’m trying to say I want to make local headlines, not national headlines,” he said of how he would operate differently than Boebert.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
Colorado Sun correspondents Sandra Fish and Nancy Lofholm contributed to this report. Lofholm contributed reporting from Grand Junction.
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either directly observed and verified by the reporter, or reported and verified from expert sources.