WATCH: Colorado’s 3rd CD contenders Adam Frisch, Jeff Hurd debate in Pueblo
Democrat Adam Frisch and Republican Jeff Hurd are set to face off Monday night in Pueblo, in the final debate in the race to replace U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert in Congress.
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The two candidates are running in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, which covers most of the Western Slope and parts of Southern Colorado.
Boebert, a Republican, has represented the sprawling seat for two terms but moved across the state at the beginning of the year to run in a safer district after nearly losing to Frisch in the last election.
Sponsored by the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce and Colorado Politics, Monday’s 90-minute debate will take place from 6:30-8 p.m. in Pueblo Community College’s Hoag Theater, 900 W. Orman Ave. Moderators are Action Colorado President and CEO Sara Blackhurst and Colorado Politics reporter Ernest Luning.
There’s no charge to attend, but seating is limited. The debate will be televised live on Xfinity Channel 19 in the Pueblo area and will stream on the chamber’s Facebook page and website.
While it’s a Republican-leaning district — its voters supported Donald Trump by a roughly 8 percentage point margin in 2020 — the 3rd CD is considered one of the more competitive seats in the state this year, chiefly due to Frisch’s surprise finish two years ago.
Confounding the forecasters, who nearly all predicted Boebert would cruise to reelection in 2022, Frisch, a wealthy former Aspen City Council member, came within fewer than 600 votes of unseating the incumbent the country’s closest congressional race that cycle.
In January, Boebert announced she was moving across the state to run in the more solidly Republican Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, which covers the Eastern Plains and includes Douglas County and parts of the northern Front Range. In June, Boebert won a crowded primary by a wide margin and is favored to win another term.
After declaring he wanted a rematch, Frisch set state fundraising records and headed into the fall campaign with nearly $14 million in total contributions — more than 10 times the $1.2 million reported by Hurd, a Grand Junction attorney and first-time candidate.
Frisch and Hurd first clashed last weekend at Western Slope advocacy group Club 20’s series of debates in Grand Junction. No other 3rd CD debates have been scheduled.
Ballots start going out to most Colorado voters in two weeks and are due back to county clerks by 7 p.m. Nov. 5.