Colorado Politics

Lauren Boebert raises less than one-third the total reported by Democratic challenger Adam Frisch

Democrat Adam Frisch raised more than three times as much in the most recent quarter as U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, the Republican incumbent he’s challenging in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, according to campaign finance reports filed over the weekend.

The filings, which cover the three-month period from April 1 to June 30, show Frisch raised $2.6 million, dwarfing the $818,177 raised by Boebert, who is seeking a third term.

In the closest congressional race in the country last year, Frisch came within 546 votes of Boebert in the Republican-leaning district, which covers most of the Western Slope and parts of Southern Colorado, including Pueblo County and the San Luis Valley.

Frisch, who announced in February that he’s seeking a rematch in next year’s election, has toppled off-year fundraising records for Colorado House candidates. For the second quarter, the wealthy former Aspen councilman raised more than the combined total posted by every other congressional candidate in the state.

Between the two of them, Boebert and Frisch hauled in nearly three-fourths of the funds raised in the last quarter by candidates for Colorado’s eight congressional seats.

Congressional candidates were required to file quarterly reports with the Federal Election Commission by midnight Saturday.

Both national parties’ House campaign committees have already targeted Boebert’s district, which has drawn heavy spending by state Democrats and Democratic-aligned groups more than a year before the 2024 election.

A poll released in April by a Democratic firm showed Boebert and Frisch in a dead heat among likely voters, with each receiving 45% support.

Frisch reported disbursements for the quarter totaling $1.4 million, leaving his campaign with close to $2.5 million in the bank. Boebert reported $404,536 in disbursements and had $1.4 million on hand.

Frisch has raised just under $4.4 million for the cycle, while Boebert has brought in just under $1.6 million. Both totals include funds left over from last year’s campaign.

Republican Russ Andrews and Democrat Debby Burnett have also filed to run for the seat. Burnett raised just over $38,000 for the quarter and had $28,000 on hand. Andrews raised about $11,000, loaned his campaign a little over $10,000 and finished the quarter with about $15,000.

A Boebert spokesman belittled Frisch’s campaign last week in a statement to Colorado Politics.

“Aspen Adam will learn he and his out-of-state Democrats cronies can’t buy this seat, no matter how hard they try. Rural Colorado knows his liberal politics are bad for us and bad for the country,” Boebert’s campaign said.

Frisch returned fire after Boebert’s campaign filed its report in a text message delivered via his campaign spokeswoman.

“Boebert is losing support as she continues her angertainment antics that do nothing to help her constituents in CO-3,” Frisch said, citing remarks he characterized as “attacking our military service members” during floor debate and the incumbent’s position near the bottom on a list ranking House members for bipartisanship.

Noting that his campaign raised almost twice as much as Boebert’s from Colorado donors in the first quarter, Frisch added, “I’m thankful to our many grassroots donors, who on average gave $32 to defeat Boebert in 2024 and give CO-3 a representative who will work hard to find bipartisan solutions to the issues they face.”

In the state’s other highly competitive congressional district, Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo reported raising just over $450,000 for the quarter and finished with $625,000 in the bank after spending a little over $118,000.

While both major parties are targeting her seat, Caraveo, who won election last year in the state’s new 8th Congressional District by just over 1,600 votes, didn’t draw a Republican challenger until last week. The evenly divided district covers parts of Adams, Weld and Larimer counties, stretching from suburbs north of Denver to Greeley.

State Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer, the Republican who narrowly lost the 2022 election to Caraveo, announced that she’s running for reelection to the legislature rather than seeking a rematch. Hours later, Weld County Commissioner Scott James launched his campaign for the GOP nomination. He won’t report fundraising totals until October.

The state’s four other Democratic House incumbents reported raising six figures for the quarter.

U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, an Aurora Democrat serving his third term, raised just under $300,000, spent slightly over $200,000 and had $1.4 million at the end of the quarter. He represents the Democratic-leaning the 6th Congressional District, which overs Aurora and Arapahoe County suburbs south of Denver.

First-term U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, a Lakewood Democrat representing the Democratic-leaning Jefferson County-based 7th Congressional District, raised just shy of $230,000 and had a little over $275,000 on hand after spending nearly $120,000.

U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, the third-term Lafayette Democrat who represents the overwhelmingly Democratic 2nd Congressional District, raised just over $200,000, spent about $180,000 and had a little over $1.8 million on hand for the quarter. His district includes most of Boulder and Larimer counties and covers much of Northwestern Colorado, including the ski corridor on Interstate 70.

In the Denver-based 1st Congressional District, Democratic U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, who is serving her 14th term, raised just over $110,000, reported just over $100,000 in expendutures and finished the quarter with about $310,000 in the bank.

Across the aisle, Colorado’s other two Republican House incumbents each raised in the mid-five figures.

U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, the five-term Republican from Windsor, raised about $44,000, disbursed just short of $95,000 and had a little over $470,000 on hand. A former chairman of the state GOP, Buck represents the solidly Republican 4th Congressional District, which includes parts of Weld and Douglas counties and most of the Eastern Plains.

Nine-term U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, who represents the heavily Republican, El Paso County-based 5th Congressional District, raised slightly over $40,000, spent about the same and reported just over $200,000 at the end of the quarter.

Democratic challenger Adam Frisch, left, and Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, the incumbent in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, are in a dead heat more than a year and a half ahead of the 2024 election, according to a poll released on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, by Democratic firm Global Strategy Group. Frisch lost to Boebert by 546 votes in the 2022 election and is seeking a rematch.
(AP file photos)
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