Republican Jeff Hurd became the first candidate running in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District to hit the airwaves on Wednesday, debuting a TV ad describing his support for the fossil fuels industry.

“I’ll stand up to Joe Biden, oppose his ban on gas-powered cars, fight for American energy independence and put Colorado first,” says Hurd in the 30-second ad.

“This ad speaks directly to the voters about the importance of energy independence and empowering Colorado’s energy industry,” Hurd said in a statement.

A Hurd spokesman told Colorado Politics the campaign is spending six figures to run the ad on cable, broadcast, streaming services and digital platforms through next month’s primary in the 3rd CD, which covers most of the Western Slope and parts of Southern Colorado.

The Grand Junction attorney and first-time candidate is one of six Republicans on the GOP primary ballot for the seat currently held by Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, who moved to another district earlier this year.

The winner of the primary will face Democrat Adam Frisch, who came within fewer than 600 votes of unseating Boebert in the last election in the Republican-leaning district. Frisch, who launched a bid for a rematch with Boebert early in 2023, is the leading fundraiser nationally among congressional challengers this cycle.

Hurd’s primary opponents took advantage of the ad’s launch to denounce their rival.

“We look forward to seeing Jeff Hurd’s anti-Trump advertising,” said Alan Philp, campaign spokesman for State Board of Education member Stephen Varela.

Former state Rep. Ron Hanks told Colorado Politics that Hurd’s ad “misses the mark,” since Hurd and others running in the primary “seem to think they’ll be fighting Joe Biden” after this year’s election.

“They are flat wrong,” Hanks said in a text message. “Joe Biden will be gone. The real mission will be to support Donald Trump and enact the AmericaFirst/MAGA agenda. These other candidates aren’t up for the task, and don’t even know what they should be doing.”

Hanks, who won an endorsement from the Colorado Republican Party earlier this month, noted that Hurd is backed by the conservative group Americans for Prosperity Action, the political arm of Americans for Prosperity, a national group that spent heavily to oppose Trump in the presidential primaries.

Hurd has refused to say whether he voted for Trump in 2016 or 2020, and won’t say whether he plans to vote for Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, in November.

Added Hanks: “Conservative voters are asking, if they voted for Biden or are anti-Trump, why are they even running in this GOP primary?”

The other Republicans running in the primary are Russ Andrews, Curtis McCrackin and Lew Webb.

Ballots start going out to voters during the first week of June and are due back to county clerks by 7 p.m. June 25.