At her first debate in Colorado's 4th Congressional District, Lauren Boebert said she was doing CD3 a service by jumping ship to CD4, claiming the Republicans "have an opportunity now to absolutely secure that seat and keep it red and stop the Hollywood money that was pouring millions of dollars" into the 2024 race and opponent Adam Frisch.
"It's the first time in her political life that she actually did a service to anyone in CD3," blasts Frisch.
This week, the Colorado Democrat and former Aspen city councilor was one of seventeen congressional candidates named on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's current "Red to Blue" list, which highlights candidates in competitive districts needed to help retake the U.S. House.
People who make this list are described by the DCCC as candidates who "reflect the broad and diverse coalition that will be critical to Democrats' success in 2024." The group notes that Frisch came within 546 votes of flipping the CD3 seat — making it the closest race in the 2022 midterms — "and restoring moderate, common-sense leadership for Colorado."
While Frisch happily welcomes the consideration, he has a message for the Democrats and donors who doubted he would be back: Keep that same energy from 2022.
"The Democrats were laughing at me, the Republicans were laughing at me, the media laughed at me — they didn't think I had a chance," Frisch says. "And I just knew in my heart of hearts that people wanted the circus to stop. People were exhausted by national politics. They wanted someone to focus on the district, not themselves, so that we could build this coalition I called the 'pro-normal' party coalition. We shocked everyone last time in the country, because we were up by thousands of votes, and then, obviously, we leaked — our lead went down, and we got down to [a difference of] 550 votes, and then there's the recount."
During the January 25 debate, Boebert repeated the claim that Frisch's seven-figure "war chest" of donations that he's received over the past year and during his 2022 campaign was part of why she left CD3 in December; she hopes that CD4 will increase her chances of winning a congressional seat and also decrease the amount of money being targeted to stop her.
Campaign finance reports that came out this week show Frisch raking in five times as much as Boebert during the fourth quarter of 2023 (October to December); Boebert raised just over $500,000. In the third quarter, from July to September, Frisch raised nearly $3.4 million compared to Boebert's $854,000.
Still, Frisch believes money should be no excuse for "abandoning her district" the way that she did.
"She was one of the biggest fundraisers, I believe, in the entire country in 2022," Frisch says. "And then all of a sudden, because of all her antics, because of how well we did, because we proved that the 'empress wears no clothing,' we were able to break through."
Frisch says he isn't surprised that Boebert is repeating her "Hollywood money claims" and accusations that he was trying to buy his way into the CD3 seat. "I think it's true that regardless of political party, whoever is generating less money, building less support, generating less sources, says the other one is buying the election," Frisch tells Westword. "Democrats do it to Republicans all the time and Republicans do it to Democrats. But look, we just worked harder. We connected with people. We raised more money than she did within the district; we raised more money than she did within the state; and we raised more money than she did on all these small-dollar donations, which used to be her and Marjorie Taylor Greene's bread and butter. And now she's complaining that she's being chased out because of it."
Citing Federal Election Commission data, Newsweek reported in early December that a number of Hollywood A-listers did, in fact, donate to Frisch's campaign — including actor Ryan Reynolds and singer Barbra Streisand.
Even with Boebert gone from the field, Frisch says not much about his campaign will change. "When people think you'd lose by 95 points on the football field and you lose in triple overtime, the plan is not to completely rehash or rejigger the entire team or message," he explains. He's treating the CD3 race like a marathon, not a sprint.
"Let's say [Boebert] was still in there; the plan was to continue just to get on the road," Frisch says. "Last time, we ran out of time and money because we entered in February of ’22; the race was in November of ’22. And I had to get on the ballot, get by a primary with a lot of skeptical Democrats, because I'm not a traditional Democrat. And then we got to convince everyone in the summer that we could defeat one of the most nationally well-known people. We almost did that, right? So the reason we launched in February of ’23 was that we were going to have like eighteen months, as opposed to eight months, to really run a campaign. The quality of the team was going to be the same, and I was going to continue to be away from home 25 days a month, which I have done since I launched this whole journey in February 2022."
Frisch says he chose to run again because Boebert "hadn't changed one iota" and he felt CD3 voters deserved better.
"She was still focused on the district, she was focused on herself, and she was happily proud to be part of this 'angertainment' industry," Frisch says. "And so the plan was to execute just as well as we did before, except we were going to have more time and we were not going to run out of money this time."
As for her run in CD4, Frisch says he's not paying too much attention — but he hopes that she is unsuccessful.
"The only thing worse than an embarrassing, ineffectual congressperson is a carpetbagging, ineffectual congressperson," Frisch tells Westword. "It sounds like there's a good couple of solid Republicans; I wish them all well to see her defeated again."
Frisch's plans for 2024 and CD3, he says, are to not focus on "Team Red" or "Team Blue," but to instead find ways to connect with the people of his district, regardless of what party they are a part of. "This district remains around 22 percent Democrat, 32 to 33 percent Republican, like 45 percent Independent, which I was for twenty years," Frisch points out. "My plan is still to work very, very hard, generate the resources we need, and just continue to go connect with Independents and Republicans and Democrats."
Frisch wants to continue to focus on issues surrounding water, natural resources, the importance of domestic energy, public lands, ranching, farming, agriculture and other rural aspects of life in CD3. "I think we're doing very, very well — and we'll see," he says.
Frisch's lone Democratic opponent in CD3, Grand Junction Mayor Anna Stout, ended her bid on January 31 after having tossed her hat into the ring last summer. Frisch is now the party's only chance to flip the district seat for the first time since 2008.
As for the Republicans who might be running against him, he brings up Grand Junction lawyer Jeff Hurd, who has the most financial support. "It seems like most of the attraction has been focused around Mr. Hurd," Frisch says.
Former state legislator and self-described "pro-Trump warrior" Ron Hanks also says he's running. "I've never met him, but he seems to be a somewhat known entity," Frisch says. "My understanding is Ron Hanks won CD3 even though he lost the statewide primary Republican race in 2022. So my assumption is he has some type of base here. I would imagine he'll do pretty well."
Moving forward, Frisch wants to keep his focus on the people in CD3 and not who's running for the seat, saying his approach will stay the same regardless of whom he's up against.
"None of it changes, whether I'm running against a Republican A, Republican B, Independent C, Green Party D," he explains. "We are ready for whatever might come our way."
Does Frisch feel more pressure to perform now that he's on the "Red to Blue" list as a key congressional candidate to watch in a race that matters a lot to Democrats? Or is the pressure reduced now that Boebert's gone?
That's hard to answer, he says, since polling numbers showed he was being favored over Boebert ahead of her Beetlejuice controversy and other personal problems. Boebert made headlines in September after she was booted from a performance of the musical at the Buell Theatre for acting inappropriately.
"Before the Beetlejuice thing happened, we were up about two points," Frisch says. "I thought after Beetlejuice, we were probably up a couple more points because it was certainly some level of a negative for her."
According to Frisch, Boebert conducted a poll in mid-December before announcing her switch to CD4. "I think everybody would love to know whatever the polling showed," he says. "She must've been down some amount of a lot." The congresswoman's campaign team could not immediately provide results of the poll when asked for them on February 2.
One of the good things about Boebert moving on, Frisch says, is the quieting of the "unproductive and counterproductive noise" that came with running against her, much of which was aimed at Boebert herself.
"All these people across the country — whether it was on Twitter or just dark-money super PACs yelling and screaming about her personal life, going after things that have nothing to do with what I think is on the voters' minds," Frisch says.
"We never got involved in any way, shape or form in anything to do with a personal story, her family, her kids, her education. None of that stuff came up from us, ever. But a lot of it came from Twitter and all these other people. And it was frustrating for me, because I've been trying to tell people why they should be voting for us, not just against someone else."
"It's the first time in her political life that she actually did a service to anyone in CD3," blasts Frisch.
This week, the Colorado Democrat and former Aspen city councilor was one of seventeen congressional candidates named on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's current "Red to Blue" list, which highlights candidates in competitive districts needed to help retake the U.S. House.
People who make this list are described by the DCCC as candidates who "reflect the broad and diverse coalition that will be critical to Democrats' success in 2024." The group notes that Frisch came within 546 votes of flipping the CD3 seat — making it the closest race in the 2022 midterms — "and restoring moderate, common-sense leadership for Colorado."
While Frisch happily welcomes the consideration, he has a message for the Democrats and donors who doubted he would be back: Keep that same energy from 2022.
"The Democrats were laughing at me, the Republicans were laughing at me, the media laughed at me — they didn't think I had a chance," Frisch says. "And I just knew in my heart of hearts that people wanted the circus to stop. People were exhausted by national politics. They wanted someone to focus on the district, not themselves, so that we could build this coalition I called the 'pro-normal' party coalition. We shocked everyone last time in the country, because we were up by thousands of votes, and then, obviously, we leaked — our lead went down, and we got down to [a difference of] 550 votes, and then there's the recount."
During the January 25 debate, Boebert repeated the claim that Frisch's seven-figure "war chest" of donations that he's received over the past year and during his 2022 campaign was part of why she left CD3 in December; she hopes that CD4 will increase her chances of winning a congressional seat and also decrease the amount of money being targeted to stop her.
Campaign finance reports that came out this week show Frisch raking in five times as much as Boebert during the fourth quarter of 2023 (October to December); Boebert raised just over $500,000. In the third quarter, from July to September, Frisch raised nearly $3.4 million compared to Boebert's $854,000.
Still, Frisch believes money should be no excuse for "abandoning her district" the way that she did.
"She was one of the biggest fundraisers, I believe, in the entire country in 2022," Frisch says. "And then all of a sudden, because of all her antics, because of how well we did, because we proved that the 'empress wears no clothing,' we were able to break through."
Frisch says he isn't surprised that Boebert is repeating her "Hollywood money claims" and accusations that he was trying to buy his way into the CD3 seat. "I think it's true that regardless of political party, whoever is generating less money, building less support, generating less sources, says the other one is buying the election," Frisch tells Westword. "Democrats do it to Republicans all the time and Republicans do it to Democrats. But look, we just worked harder. We connected with people. We raised more money than she did within the district; we raised more money than she did within the state; and we raised more money than she did on all these small-dollar donations, which used to be her and Marjorie Taylor Greene's bread and butter. And now she's complaining that she's being chased out because of it."
Citing Federal Election Commission data, Newsweek reported in early December that a number of Hollywood A-listers did, in fact, donate to Frisch's campaign — including actor Ryan Reynolds and singer Barbra Streisand.
Even with Boebert gone from the field, Frisch says not much about his campaign will change. "When people think you'd lose by 95 points on the football field and you lose in triple overtime, the plan is not to completely rehash or rejigger the entire team or message," he explains. He's treating the CD3 race like a marathon, not a sprint.
"Let's say [Boebert] was still in there; the plan was to continue just to get on the road," Frisch says. "Last time, we ran out of time and money because we entered in February of ’22; the race was in November of ’22. And I had to get on the ballot, get by a primary with a lot of skeptical Democrats, because I'm not a traditional Democrat. And then we got to convince everyone in the summer that we could defeat one of the most nationally well-known people. We almost did that, right? So the reason we launched in February of ’23 was that we were going to have like eighteen months, as opposed to eight months, to really run a campaign. The quality of the team was going to be the same, and I was going to continue to be away from home 25 days a month, which I have done since I launched this whole journey in February 2022."
Frisch says he chose to run again because Boebert "hadn't changed one iota" and he felt CD3 voters deserved better.
"She was still focused on the district, she was focused on herself, and she was happily proud to be part of this 'angertainment' industry," Frisch says. "And so the plan was to execute just as well as we did before, except we were going to have more time and we were not going to run out of money this time."
Now that Boebert has moved on, Frisch is still focused on supporting local people and their needs in CD3 — but he'd be lying if he said he doesn't feel like he's already won, he admits. "There were a couple reasons I ran, and one of them certainly was to see someone like the current representative not be part of CD3," Frisch says. "So we're proud in taking a bit of a victory lap about being able to get her out."
As for her run in CD4, Frisch says he's not paying too much attention — but he hopes that she is unsuccessful.
"The only thing worse than an embarrassing, ineffectual congressperson is a carpetbagging, ineffectual congressperson," Frisch tells Westword. "It sounds like there's a good couple of solid Republicans; I wish them all well to see her defeated again."
Frisch's plans for 2024 and CD3, he says, are to not focus on "Team Red" or "Team Blue," but to instead find ways to connect with the people of his district, regardless of what party they are a part of. "This district remains around 22 percent Democrat, 32 to 33 percent Republican, like 45 percent Independent, which I was for twenty years," Frisch points out. "My plan is still to work very, very hard, generate the resources we need, and just continue to go connect with Independents and Republicans and Democrats."
Frisch wants to continue to focus on issues surrounding water, natural resources, the importance of domestic energy, public lands, ranching, farming, agriculture and other rural aspects of life in CD3. "I think we're doing very, very well — and we'll see," he says.
Frisch's lone Democratic opponent in CD3, Grand Junction Mayor Anna Stout, ended her bid on January 31 after having tossed her hat into the ring last summer. Frisch is now the party's only chance to flip the district seat for the first time since 2008.
As for the Republicans who might be running against him, he brings up Grand Junction lawyer Jeff Hurd, who has the most financial support. "It seems like most of the attraction has been focused around Mr. Hurd," Frisch says.
Former state legislator and self-described "pro-Trump warrior" Ron Hanks also says he's running. "I've never met him, but he seems to be a somewhat known entity," Frisch says. "My understanding is Ron Hanks won CD3 even though he lost the statewide primary Republican race in 2022. So my assumption is he has some type of base here. I would imagine he'll do pretty well."
Moving forward, Frisch wants to keep his focus on the people in CD3 and not who's running for the seat, saying his approach will stay the same regardless of whom he's up against.
"None of it changes, whether I'm running against a Republican A, Republican B, Independent C, Green Party D," he explains. "We are ready for whatever might come our way."
Does Frisch feel more pressure to perform now that he's on the "Red to Blue" list as a key congressional candidate to watch in a race that matters a lot to Democrats? Or is the pressure reduced now that Boebert's gone?
That's hard to answer, he says, since polling numbers showed he was being favored over Boebert ahead of her Beetlejuice controversy and other personal problems. Boebert made headlines in September after she was booted from a performance of the musical at the Buell Theatre for acting inappropriately.
"Before the Beetlejuice thing happened, we were up about two points," Frisch says. "I thought after Beetlejuice, we were probably up a couple more points because it was certainly some level of a negative for her."
According to Frisch, Boebert conducted a poll in mid-December before announcing her switch to CD4. "I think everybody would love to know whatever the polling showed," he says. "She must've been down some amount of a lot." The congresswoman's campaign team could not immediately provide results of the poll when asked for them on February 2.
One of the good things about Boebert moving on, Frisch says, is the quieting of the "unproductive and counterproductive noise" that came with running against her, much of which was aimed at Boebert herself.
"All these people across the country — whether it was on Twitter or just dark-money super PACs yelling and screaming about her personal life, going after things that have nothing to do with what I think is on the voters' minds," Frisch says.
"We never got involved in any way, shape or form in anything to do with a personal story, her family, her kids, her education. None of that stuff came up from us, ever. But a lot of it came from Twitter and all these other people. And it was frustrating for me, because I've been trying to tell people why they should be voting for us, not just against someone else."
