In Colorado, Republicans and Democrats unite ... in waiting

A district spanning 27 counties defies generalizations. In the past week, Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District has demonstrated that.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Trump-backed incumbent Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert had edged about 1,100 votes ahead of Democratic challenger Adam Frisch, a far cry from national forecasts for a shoo-in second term. Today is the deadline for Colorado clerks to receive military and overseas ballots, as well as ballots that needed “curing” over signature issues. It remains unclear when the count will conclude – and whether a recount (state-ordered or otherwise requested by a campaign) awaits. 

Amid the uncertainty since Nov. 8, interviews with voters make at least one thing clear: The race has united CO-3 in a waiting game.

“Every day I check the tally,” says Frisch voter Laura Van Deusen, a middle school math teacher in Rifle who’s concerned about women’s rights and the environment. 

“It doesn’t sound like she wants to listen to the other side,” she says, whereas Mr. Frisch “really talked about working on both sides of the aisle.”

Boebert voter Gene Trujillo, on the other hand, has resisted constant checking of the count, he says, as it “kind of weighs heavy on the heart sometimes.” The retired railroad worker in Walsenburg sees a strong Second Amendment supporter and “pro-life” advocate in his congresswoman. “She comes across as knowing what’s right and wrong, and that pleases me.”

During her first term in Congress, far-right Representative Boebert has been noted nationally for her loyalty to former President Donald Trump, defense of gun rights, and upending of establishment norms – including remarks this summer about being “tired of this separation of church and state junk.” Mr. Frisch, a businessman and former city council member in the luxury mountain town of Aspen, has campaigned as a moderate, downplaying his Democratic status. 

Some CO-3 voters see the race as a residual referendum on the last president (who just announced his bid for 2024).

“She’s a loudmouth like Trump,” says Republican Doug Wight, a resident of New Castle on the Western Slope, on his support for Ms. Boebert. “Once they get to Washington, they don’t do anything anyway – she’s just fun to watch.”

He’s in Silt at his shop, Gold Ring Pawn. A red Trump shirt hangs among liberal-bashing signs and racks of rifles and shotguns. The economy and gun control, which he opposes, are top issues for Mr. Wight, who rests his elbow on a Gadsden flag mouse pad.

The tight race is “concerning,” says Mr. Wight, who doubts President Joe Biden was legally elected. But in the end he throws up his hands: “Whatever happens, happens.”

In the southern city of Pueblo, Lynette Baca, who relies on disability benefits, has felt the crunch of inflation. But that wasn’t enough to sway the Democrat’s vote. Ms. Baca says she chose Mr. Frisch, whose sign sits on her lawn, “because I don’t believe in what Lauren stands for.” For one, Ms. Baca, a Roman Catholic, is, herself, against abortion, but she respects other women’s right to choose – a compromise in contrast to the congresswoman’s hard-line stance.

Another red flag: “I’m so against Trump,” says Ms. Baca. She cradles a friend’s baby on the couch, her darkened living room aglow with a Minions movie. 

CO-3 is a three-quarters white, largely rural region, with population centers like Grand Junction in the west and Pueblo to the south. It embraces farmers and ranchers facing drought-wracked fields, upscale skiing in the high country, and university enclaves.

Ms. Boebert won her primary by 32 points in June over Republican state Sen. Don Coram, who went on to endorse Mr. Frisch. The November election “should have been a fairly easy win for Lauren Boebert, but it certainly did not develop that way,” says Justin Gollob, professor of political science at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction. Not only was she an incumbent, but being a member of the party opposing the president (especially one faulted for inflation) also seemed to sweeten the deal ahead of Election Day.

Colorado “often has been thought of in the not-so-distant past as a purple state,” says Professor Gollob. But given recent electoral trends, he adds, “it’s hard to come to a conclusion other than this is a state that’s trending blue with deep-red regional pockets.”

Democrats here control seats for governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and the state legislature – a monopoly that survived the midterms. But the last time a Democrat won the CO-3 seat was in 2008.

As the sun sets on Grand Junction, the race is marinating in the minds of grocery shoppers outside a City Market. 

As she loads bags into a car, Republican voter Lori Chandler says she wasn’t too surprised by the close count – and not just because of the state’s leftward trend. 

“Half my friends are conservative, and about probably half of them are liberal,” says Ms. Chandler. She credits her ability to get along with both sides to her being a teacher. 

Across the parking lot, unaffiliated voter Danielle Garcia hopes for a Frisch win. 

And yet, “whatever the people vote for is what we need to go with,” says the nurse. That’s why she votes – so that “my voice is heard.”