December 30, 2023 03:36 PM UTC

Sorry Jeff Hurd, Here Comes The Herd

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• by: Colorado Pols

The stunning news Wednesday that America’s Most Vulnerable™ Rep. Lauren Boebert was transplanting her reality TV show re-election campaign from Colorado’s R+9 Third Congressional District to the R+∞ Fourth District currently represented by retiring Rep. Ken Buck, thus sidestepping the much-anticipated rematch between Boebert and Democratic challenger Adam Frisch, left Boebert’s Republican primary challenger Jeff “You’ve Never” Hurd momentarily in the catbird seat with a long list of endorsements and growing momentum commensurate with Boebert’s definitive “Beetlebert” catastrophe at Denver’s Buell Theater on September 10th.

But as we told you to expect last week when this momentous news hit, Boebert’s departure from the CD-3 race has opened up an R+9 Republican congressional seat, meaning a relatively safe Republican seat for a candidate less prone to scandal than Boebert, without the trouble of having to oust Lauren Boebert–and a host of better-known candidates are now considering jumping into the race. Despite the mounting dissatisfaction with Boebert that preceded the “Beetlebert” scandal, bigger-name Republicans in Boebert’s district were afraid to directly challenge her. Thus creating the opportunity for Hurd to play the sacrificial lamb–or, as it happened, capitalize on the scandal that capsized Boebert’s campaign less than a month after Hurd announced.

Ernest Luning of the Colorado Springs Gazette’s political blog covered the Colorado GOP’s official election denialist and former Rep. “Raging” Ron Hanks’ announcement yesterday that he’ll be challenging Hurd for the CD-3 nomination:

Calling the GOP-leaning, Western Slope-based 3rd CD “vital to the Republican majority in the U.S. House,” Hanks said in a written statement that he’s running to keep the seat in conservative hands, adding, “Not moderate, establishment, or RINO,” using a derisive acronym for Republicans in name only.

“HOW the newly elected representative votes will make the difference between an obstructionist RINO congress working against President Trump’s next term, or a task-oriented congress that reverses the rot of the Biden Regime,” Hanks said.

We can’t wait to see what Hanks blows up to celebrate the launch of his congressional campaign! Topping blowing up the copy machine labeled “DOMINION VOTING MACHINE” won’t be easy, but where there’s a will and a bucket of Tannerite, there’s a way. Hanks getting into the CD-3 race makes it less likely that another rumored entrant from the “election truther” right, indicted former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, will be getting in the race in order to maximize her pretrial privileges.

Elliott Wenzler reports for the Glenwood Springs Post-Independent that Delta County’s Rep. Matt Soper is also close to jumping in:

Prominent Republicans in the district are likely mulling over whether or not to enter the race, as it’s one of the few opportunities for the group in an increasingly blue state. State Rep. Matt Soper, a Delta Republican, said he’s considering entering the race in a text message to Vail Daily.

Our readers know Rep. Soper best from his recent threat to start a civil war over Colorado’s gun safety bills, an outburst for which he later apologized on the floor of the Colorado House. Soper also quipped baselessly that Dominion Voting machines might have flipped Grand Junction City Council races that didn’t go Soper’s way, equally at odds with the level-headed image Soper tries to project.

The next name we’re hearing as a possible contender in the CD-3 primary is Boebert’s current district director, the staffer tasked with explaining to the voters of CD-3 why Boebert is bailing on them, former state Rep. Clarice Navarro of Pueblo. It’s been no secret since the Scott Tipton era that Navarro would like to run for higher office someday, and up until Navarro’s boss Boebert made a pariah of herself before announcing her intention to slink away from the district in disgrace Navarro was in a good position to run whenever Boebert moved on. Instead, Navarro stands to inherit all the animosity in the district built up against Boebert, and that’s not going to help her in what looks to be a primary ripe with choices.

This list of contenders in the newly open CD-3 Republican primary is by no means exhaustive, and we won’t be surprised to hear about other potential candidates expressing interest. Hurd racked up endorsements while his expected opponent was Boebert, and a key indicator we’ll be watching for is those endorsers jumping ship to another candidate as former Sen. Ray Scott predicted would be necessary and painful.

Do we feel bad for Barbora Hurd’s husband? We will say he suffered a strange twist of fate. Ironically, Hurd’s prominence in the CD-3 primary was dependent on having Boebert as his opponent. Now that other better-qualified Republicans have no fear of reprisal from Boebert’s devoted social media hordes, Hurd’s campaign no longer makes sense. Such is the fate of the placeholder, who in this case came closer than most to success.

In the end, Lauren Boebert sabotaged them both.