Adam Frisch announces run in Colorado District 39News

The Democrat who came within a fraction of a percentage point of unseating U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert in the closest congressional election in the country last year announced on Tuesday that he’s launching another run for the seat.

“November’s election results show us that Boebert is weak and will be defeated, which is why I have decided to launch my 2024 congressional campaign,” Frisch said in a statement. “Despite her near-loss in a district that favored Republicans by 9 points, Boebert has only doubled-down on her divisive antics, attention-seeking, and ‘angertainment’ that does nothing to benefit the people of Southern and Western Colorado.”

Frisch, a former member of Aspen City Council, said Boebert’s close call in a race that didn’t draw national attention until the votes were being counted suggests the Silt Republican is vulnerable.

Election forecasters dismissed Frisch’s chances last year, calling the sprawling district safely Republican, but after Frisch took the lead in early returns, a mandatory recount found the incumbent won by 546 votes out of more than 325,000 cast – or just over 1/10th of a percentage point.

“Lauren Boebert is everything that’s wrong with Congress,” Frisch said in a campaign video posted to social media. “She’s an election denier that encouraged the attack on the Capitol and wants to make all abortion illegal, even for rape and incest. She’s part of the ‘angertainment’ circus that’s tearing the company apart.”

A Boebert campaign spokesman dismissed the Democrat’s criticism.

“The entire country watched as Congresswoman Lauren Boebert helped fearlessly lead the way in making historic improvements to how Congress operates,” Ben Stout told Colorado Politics in an email.

“In just a matter of weeks since then, Congresswoman Boebert has cosponsored and helped pass six bills and authored four amendments, each one passing on the House floor with bipartisan support. She looks forward to continuing to serve Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, regardless of whoever runs against her.”

Boebert was a leading voice among the House Republicans who blocked Kevin McCarthy from winning the speaker’s race for nearly a week in early January until the California Republican agreed to change some of the chamber’s rules, among other concessions.

Frisch filed paperwork to run again in 2024 shortly after conceding to Boebert in November but said at the time that he was keeping his options open and hadn’t decided whether to mount another run.

“I have continued to be focused on the district and making sure it gets proper representation,” Frisch told Colorado Politics, adding that he met last week with representatives of rural advocacy groups in the district, which covers most of the Western Slope, southern Colorado and Pueblo County.

“There remains a lot of frustration that the current representative doesn’t seem to have learned many lessons after having one of the worst performing campaigns in the country last year,” Frisch said, adding that he doesn’t think Boebert has been focused on issues such as water, rural healthcare and education.

Frisch said in a release that he plans to kick off his campaign in Pueblo Wednesday.