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December 10, 2021 04:10 PM UTC

Heads Up: Credible Republican Challenger Eyes Boebert Primary

  • 42 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: Colorado Newsline’s Sara Wilson:

“I could go into the thousands of phone calls and text messages and emails from people throughout the district that have reached out to me to take a look at it,” Coram said in an interview. “The fact is I have a very solid record as a moderate who is kind of a ‘get it done’ type…”

“I don’t see myself running against Boebert,” he said. “I see myself running for Colorado.” [Pols emphasis]

He did not say whether Boebert’s recent Islamophobic comments against Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar further swayed him to consider entering the race, just that the requests for him to run have been numerous and consistent. He did criticize the intense polarization in Congress.

“I’m concerned that we as a state and as a nation have extremes on both sides. The left and the right seem more hell-bent on dividing our nation rather than uniting our nation,” he said.

—–

State Sen. Don Coram (R).

The Colorado Sun’s Jesse Paul breaks another potentially big piece of political news, originally in today’s Unaffiliated newsletter and now appropriately escalated to its own story: Republican state Sen. Don Coram of Montrose is considering a primary challenge against freshman controversy magnet Rep. Lauren Boebert:

State Sen. Don Coram, of Montrose, told The Colorado Sun’s political newsletter, The Unaffiliated, that he has been contacted by multiple people who want him to run against the 3rd Congressional District incumbent from Garfield County.

“I’m considering all options,” Coram said.

The timing would make sense for Coram, who is heading into the final year of his first term as a state senator. He can’t run for reelection because of redistricting.

Coram was drawn into the same district as Republican Sen. Bob Rankin, of Carbondale. Since Rankin’s term doesn’t end until January 2025, he will keep the seat. Coram’s only options to stay in the legislature are to run for a House seat, which is unlikely, or move into a new Senate district, which it’s too late to do.

Possible campaign slogan.

The recently-completed redistricting process has left Rep. Boebert’s district slightly redder than it was in the previous decade in which it was held relatively easily by Rep. Scott Tipton–now a +9 Republican lean from +6. That’s still not outside the realm of possibility for a strong Democratic challenger, but as we’ve written in this space a few times it also creates a tantalizing opportunity for a Republican primary challenge to Boebert. Boebert’s underperformance in the 2020 general election compared to her predecessor is likely to be repeated giving her extremely polarizing brief tenure in office, allowing a credible challenger to argue that they could hold the seat with less effort–not to mention being less of a brand-killing embarrassment to the Republican Party going forward.

State Sen. Don Coram could be the perfect choice as a level-headed and qualified conservative alternative to Boebert’s exhausting bombast-on-blast style. Boebert’s strategy of continuously seeking to define the extreme position on every conceivable issue, endlessly cultivating outrage to keep her critics saying her name (and in the process deflecting from her growing list of very real ethics problems) does nothing to address the needs of her constituents–and with Colorado’s open-ish primaries allowing unaffiliated voters to participate in the CD-3 Republican contest, an experienced and trustworthy alternative to Boebert is going to draw a lot of support.

No disrespect intended to the relatively unknown Marina Zimmerman, who filed to run early against Boebert and has bravely carried the torch of intra-GOP resistance to Boebert in the district up to now. But if you’re a Republican with a conscience who has been chafing at Boebert’s unyielding nuttery, or just one who wants to maximize the odds and minimize the harm going into a crucial midterm election, Don Coram should have your full attention.

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42 thoughts on “Heads Up: Credible Republican Challenger Eyes Boebert Primary”

  3. I recall he was famous for f—ing over the gay lesbian and (to some extent) bisexual communities with his vote to kill civil unions legislation ten years ago, but that is now water under bridge since we’ve got bigger bigots to take down.

    1. I recall seeing him down at the state house some years ago wearing an IUD pin. I think he may have supported a pro-contraception bill.

      Senator Coram will definitely have my attention and also money.

      1. I remember seeing his gay son interviewed when dad voted to kill civil unions legislation. Not unlike the reaction from Mary Cheney when Liz Cheney denounced same sex marriage.

        Like Liz, Don has evolved. IIRC he cosponsored some LGBT-friendly legislation a couple of years ago.

         

    1. That’s not my takeaway from the article. And I’m more concerned with the related article, about Senators Manchin and Cortez-Masto blocking any reform of the long outdated 1872 General Mining Act.

  6. I almost never give money to R's, but I would send him some. My friends on the Western Slope deserve better than what they've got and (speaking as a kayaker) they need effective representation to keep water in their rivers. 

    1. Coram is a bit more mushmouthed than Zimmerman on the Big Lie; according to the Newsline:

      As for the 2020 election, which many far-right politicians have claimed without evidence was fraudulent and “stolen” from former President Donald Trump, Coram said he hasn’t seen any proof of that. 

      “I think everybody wants to have a conspiracy, but to me, 2020 is behind us,” he said. “I’m looking to ‘22 and ‘24.”

      Zimmerman’s support of truth is stronger, per the Colorado Times Recorder:

      “Honesty and integrity are some things we’ve lost in the last four years,” Zimmerman told Colorado Newsline. “Those things are important. The truth is important, we may not always like it, but the truth is very important.”
       

      Coram may be a more credible challenger to Boebert, by virtue of his gender. and name recognition from previous elected service. However, I like Zimmermans bluntness, ( “truth matters” vs. Let’s move on,”), and like Ckonola, I’m concerned by Coram’s part ownership in some of these zombie uranium mines. They need to be cleaned up and/or properly closed down. Obviously, either candidate, or any Democrat, would better represent CD3.

  8. It's people like Coram that make the more extremist Republicans whine and pine for closed primaries and caucuses/conventions. If Coram can recruit enough Unaffiliateds (or Democrats registering as such because redistricting says they're better off voting in R primaries), he's got a shot. Certainly Blowbutt is a painful sort of representation.

        1. Hey. Get over yourself with that tired bullshit. We didn't put her there. Republicans did. Try to spin it anyway your confused mind can spin it. 

          She is your problem. 

          1. boebert is the Nation's problem…as well…she is doing what the insurrection instructs her to do…she is not smart in any sense of the word…she is being used by extremists and she doesn't understand that…or if she does, then she should pay the price…anyway…being a moron is not a legal defense tho…

            1. In terms of being the nations' problem, Glockbert is emblematic of the rot within the Republican party. She is not doing anything impactful to legislate damage to the American people, just exposing daily her chronic case of verbal dysentery. 

              Yes, she is most dangerous to the R party itself. And a symbol of anarchy, truly.

              Much of my response was aimed at the too oft repeated accusation that criticism of one Boeberts' opponents (the one he likes) is tantamount to support for Boebert. It is a worn out line, dripping with asininity.

               

          2. Oh come on now, . . .

            . . . you and I and probably everyone else here all know how hard CHB does work . . .

            . . . to constantly try to point out here that it wasn’t really Republicans ( . . . or real Republicans, or whatever other exoneration he uses . . .) that gave us all of today’s Boeberts and who put them in office!!!?

            . . . QED, it must be somebody else what done it, and ergo who should change or fix it.

            (. . . Jill Stein voters, or Ilhan Omar supporters, or people who want to provide community college tuitions . . . they’re the ones who’re responsible for putting all the Boeberts in office.)

            Really Republicans ( . . . or real Republicans, or whatever other exonerations . . . ) are completely blameless.  You should be thanking him, and also really Republicans. How many times you gotta’ be told??!!??

              1. Oh, you’ve already gotten off with all that easy stuff  — Now, assume the position, and prepare yourself for “the fifty”!:

                [whack]

                “Thank you, Richard Nixon, may I have another?! . . .

                [whack]

                “Thank you, Newt Gingrich, may I have another?! . . .

                [whack]

                “Thank you, Dick Cheney, may I have another?! . . .

                [whack]

                “Thank you, Koch Brothers, may I have another?! . . .

                [whack]

                “Thank you, Oliver North, may I have another?! . . .

                . . .

                [whack]

                . . .

                . . .

                 

                    2. Are you sure that “reference” isn’t a bit of falsely modest understatement . . .

                      . . . that seems way closer to a how-to manual, with step-by-step directions?

          3. Maybe you (and Sun) need to get over your own self. Your District elected Boebert. I live in the 7th District. Which makes her YOUR problem since you live in the 3rd. 

            Tipton was far better than Boebert as the 3rd District congressional. Coram will be better yet if he’s elected.

            Your Dem candidate the last two elections is an extremely nice person. I know because I’ve met her. But, your Dem candidate campaign team left much to be desired.

            1. I would like to hear anything she has done as a representative of CD3 that directly affects my life, in any way.

              Her carnival sideshow, to me and American politics, is a distraction..nothing more.

              But to the Republican  party…she is one of their leading gravediggers. Unless your party decides to stop her, she will not be stopped. She is in a +9R district.

              She will continue to drag the Party of Lincoln into the gutter and through the slime. My question is…What will you do to stop her? Give money to Don Coram and scold anyone who disses him as being a Glockbert supporter?

              My ….what an effective strategy.

              1. Now, now. She is providing meaningful employment for one of Fluffy’s family members all while trying to gut his employer. Thankfully that bootstrapper has a union protecting him. 

                Think of it as a zero-sum. Or the Hunger Games.

              2. “Give money to Don Coram and scold anyone who disses him as being a Glockbert supporter?”

                Considering CHB does not live in the district and cannot vote against Boebert, he’s doing the next best thing by giving $$$ to Coram.

                What exactly do you expect him to do to get rid of your representative? 

                By the way, is Diane Mitsch Bush going to run again?

                1. God…I hope not. Diane is very nice. I played a couple of fundraisers for her.

                  She will do no better a third time. As CHB has said, Democrats still allow their campaigns to be run by people from out of town.They have the money. One of the first political axioms I learned was, ” A dollars worth is support buys a dollars worth of control.”

                  CD3 is simply not going to elect a professor from Steamboat.

              2. COVID helped Boebert. It was the height of the pandemic with no vaccines in sight. Boebert, being a “Covid hoaxer”, continued to hold large, unmasked in-person events; Mitsch Bush did not.

                2. COVID did help her but she was going to win anyway. Duke was right …. CD 3 was not going to elect a professor from Steamboat.

                  But look at what happened nationwide. Dems lost House seats across the country in competitive districts.

                  And but for the assist by Donald Trump and Lin Wood telling folks in Georgia that the election was rigged, GOP turnout for the January runoff would not have dropped and Mitch McConnell would still be majority leader.

                  Let’s face it, people didn’t vote Democratic so much as vote to get rid of Trump.

                  1. You are correct there, I trow.

                    I have not made nor argued that point to my recollection.

                    I read that Chris Wallace is leaving Fox News for CNN. He knows what I am talking about.

                  2. Bobo beat D M B by about the same margin she trounced Tipton – 51 % to 45%. For future elections, CD3 kept its four “pivot counties” that voted for both Obama and Trump in different years. 
                     

                    Boebert is so identified with Trump and Trumpism that , IMHO, she won’t be able to clear a majority of CD3 voters who despise him. Her Magic Glock won’t help. She might win a plurality in the primary, but is vulnerable in the general election.

                    1. Well, hope springs eternal.

                      Maybe next time Bobo loses. Or in 2024. Or 2026.

                      Remember, even Marilyn Musgrave eventually managed to lose.

  10. He’ll get absolutely destroyed in a primary: The thing is, people don’t really want to believe it, but Boebert is not an accident: She is exactly what Republican voters WANT.

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