October 08, 2020 01:50 PM UTC

DMB Scores Significant Republican Endorsement

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• by: Colorado Pols

Ernest Luning of the Colorado Springs Gazette reports on an aisle-crossing endorsement for Democratic CD-3 candidate Diane Mitsch Bush that could have even deeper portent than the significance of a former Republican state house speaker backing a Democrat:

Rifle Republican Russ George, a former speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, on Thursday endorsed Diane Mitsch Bush, the Democratic nominee in the 3rd Congressional District.

The announcement comes as a blow to Republican Lauren Boebert, the Rifle restaurant owner and first-time candidate who knocked off five-term U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton in June’s Republican primary…

George is as close to Western Slope royalty as they come. The fourth-generation Rifle native served four terms representing House District 57 in the 1990s.

Russ George is a veteran of the old school of substantially less radical Republicans who were in control of the state up until the party’s hard right turn in the early 2000s–which occurred at the same time that Democrats began their ascent to the political dominance they’ve enjoyed with only a few exceptions to the present day. That Russ George can’t stomach the low-information fringe bombast of CD-3 upstart candidate Lauren “Q*Bert” Boebert hurts her with a segment of Republican voters who, although they didn’t show up in enough numbers to save Rep. Scott Tipton in the primary, are definitely needed if Boebert wants to win the general election.

The other interesting albeit over-the-horizon possibility this endorsement brings up is that Scott Tipton himself may have an interest in running again for his seat in 2022 in the event Boebert loses the election next month. Tipton himself has reportedly been approached about weighing in on the race for his successor, but he hasn’t joined Boebert on the campaign trail. Tipton’s unexpected defeat was a major shock to the GOP establishment in Colorado, and if Boebert can’t hold on to this R+6 seat it’s reasonable to expect Republicans to make a bid in two years for a return to status quo ante “Q*Bert.”

In the short run, there are plenty of voters on the Western Slope who trust Russ George.