Washington wannabe Adam Frisch prepared to kick one through the uprights for a win. He planned to defeat Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert and help Democrats win back the House of Representatives.

As Frisch approached the ball, he saw trouble. The ball holder was Boebert, smirking like Lucy Van Pelt picking on Charlie Brown.

A split second before Frisch connected with the ball, Boebert moved it. Visualize Frisch flipping through the air and landing on his back like Charlie.

Seriously, this is no cartoon or game. Knowing that Boebert Fatigue© could elect Frisch, she took her ball and walked away. Boebert announced she would run in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, where Republican Rep. Ken Buck declined to seek another term.

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Boebert does not live in CD4. We see this a lot in politics – much like in football. The Dallas Cowboys don’t play in Dallas. The Washington Commanders play in Maryland. Nearly one-third of NFL teams carpetbag their home games.

Boebert has a better chance of winning CD4 than most people know. The crowded primary field will disperse the votes of Boebert’s detractors, giving her a mathematical edge.

Boebert enters the primary with substantial money she raised while trying to keep pace with Frisch.

If Boebert wins the primary, her odds of winning the general approach 100%. While Republicans hold a nine-point registration advantage in the CD3, they have an insurmountable 27-point advantage in the Fourth.

Unlike the Third, the Fourth has no Aspen, Vail, Telluride, or other pockets of blue transplants from Wall Street and Hollywood. As coastal migrants to CD3 create forward momentum for centrist policies and candidates, we see no such trend in CD4.

“In the Fourth, there’s no middle. It is rock-ribbed, red, MAGA Republican,” Magellan Strategies Pollster David Flaherty told 9News Denver.

By moving the ball, Boebert nearly guarantees defeat for Frisch. For CD3’s farmers, ranchers, miners and roughnecks, that means no power for the rich man north of Crested Butte. Boebert’s venue change dashes left-wing delusions of flipping a Republican district to gain control of the House.

By simply picking up the ball and moving on, Boebert made waste of a mountain of left-wing cash invested to take her down.

Frisch became a Democratic icon after nearly defeating Boebert in 2022. His campaign raised more than $7 million in the third quarter of 2023 – triple what Boebert brought in. It is the second-highest amount donated to a congressional campaign this year.

The money was not raised for Frisch. It was donated against Boebert, whose melodramatic style lost its charm long ago. Without Boebert to defeat, Frisch has little chance of winning in November.

By starting over in another district, Boebert clears the way for Grand Junction Republican Jeff Hurd to win the primary – a feat highly unlikely when he faced an incumbent.

The Gazette’s editorial board and a growing list of well-known Republicans have given Hurd impassioned primary endorsements. A Western Slope native, Hurd sounds fully committed to defending the Western Slope’s economy and culture.

Hurd uses his work as an attorney to solve problems for CD3 residents and businesses. He wants to protect his district from regulatory attacks on oil and gas production.

Hurd exudes the demeanor of a scholarly, humble statesman trying to improve the world by working with others toward constructive results.

No one knows for certain how CD4 will treat Boebert in the March 5 primary. With or without her, the district will send another Republican to the House. So will CD3 – almost certainly – because Boebert moved the ball.

Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board