March 29, 2024 10:08 AM UTC

Greg Lopez Throws Lauren Boebert The Lifeline From Hell

•  
• by: Colorado Pols

Last night’s vote by 98 Republicans in the remote Eastern Colorado town of Hugo selecting a candidate in the June 25th special election for the Fourth Congressional District, the winner of which will serve out the remaining months of retired Rep. Ken Buck’s term, resulted in the selection of a placeholder who is not on the primary ballot that same day for the nomination for the November general election. The selection of former Parker mayor and minor gubernatorial candidate Greg Lopez is being generally interpreted as good news for carpetbagger Rep. Lauren Boebert, whose principal primary opponent former Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg had hoped to build advantage in the primary as the nominee to serve out the remainder of Buck’s term. This morning, Boebert put out a statement lavishing the most praise on Lopez he’s probably ever received:

Congratulations to Greg Lopez, who will be a strong Congressman finishing out the remainder of Ken BUCKLE’S term! Greg stepped up with a servant heart and a leadership mindset with accountability being his driving force. [Whatever that means–Pols]

THANK YOU to the Vacancy Committee members who have put in countless hours and consideration in order to do what is best for Colorado’s 4th Congressional District. I look forward to serving the remainder of the 118th Congress with my soon to be colleague!

Colorado Public Radio’s Caitlyn Kim confirms that Boebert lobbied the vacancy committee to select a candidate who doesn’t appear on the primary ballot, thus neutralizing the boost their selection may have given:

Boebert wrote to the members of the vacancy committee saying as much and encouraging them to vote for a conservative not running in the primary. She noted that a candidate in both races would be able to “double their fundraising ability” through outside money and other avenues and “that would undoubtedly influence the regular primary election.” Boebert has the most campaign cash on hand, $1.28 million as of the last campaign filing, a million more than her nearest competitor.

Greg Lopez wasn’t the only candidate before the vacancy committee running as a placeholder, but in the final rounds of voting Lopez was the only such candidate left in the race against Sonnenberg and former Sen. Ted “ScamPAC” Harvey of Highlands Ranch–both of whom are also campaigning for the primary ballot. Following Harvey’s elimination in the fifth round of voting, Harvey called on his supporters to back Sonnenberg, but it didn’t work and Lopez came out on top in the next and final round. At least one other alternative placeholder, CO-06 GOP sacrificial lamb candidate John Fabbricatore, says he got in a car accident on the road to Hugo:

The short answer is, the vacancy committee picked Greg Lopez because he was the only choice left whose personal ambitions wouldn’t hurt Lauren Boebert’s chances in the primary. But in every respect except for that, rehabilitating Greg Lopez is an absolute disaster for Republicans that has not even begun to reverberate. And our readers already know why:

Lopez…has faced allegations of impropriety in the past, most notably a 1993 domestic violence complaint, a 2003 DUI, and allegations that former Colorado Director of the Small Business Administration during the Obama Administration misused his influence after leaving office.

After his selection, the former Mayor of Parker refused to answer questions about the misuse of influence allegations, saying “the record speaks for itself.” However, his wife defended him regarding the domestic violence complaint, noting it happened 30 years ago.

“I’m done with it,” she said.

Lopez paid $15,000 to settle the civil case that after he left the SBA he attempted to improperly influence actions of the SBA in violation of federal law.

During both of Greg Lopez’s campaigns for governor in 2018 and 2022, he was dogged by questions about his criminal record, including the 1993 incident in which Lopez allegedly knocked his pregnant wife to the floor and kicked her. In 2018, Lopez released an incredibly cringeworthy video with his wife attempting to “live down” the incident that was condemned as both denial-ridden and exploitative. But considering the influence Lopez is set to wield for a few months in Washington, Lopez’s misuse of influence case could be the more proximal concern.

And of course, when Lopez isn’t running from questions about his checkered past, he’s busy being as offensive as possible:

Greg Lopez is objectively speaking one of the very worst Republican candidates for office at any level in recent Colorado political history, so bad his last outing was to lose to Heidi Ganahl in the 2022 GOP gubernatorial primary. His record makes him one of the few choices available to the CO-04 vacancy committee that could actually put the seat in play for the remainder of Buck’s term if Democrats are able to nominate a special election candidate with minimal qualifications and no equivalent baggage. These are very good reasons to not let Lopez near the levers of power even for a few months, and that could be enough to decouple the choice for voters between the special election and primary ballots.

Yes, he’s that bad. And we strongly suspect Lopez is about to show you better than we can tell you. As for Boebert, whose clique includes the worst (and even expelled) members of Congress, her moral compass stopped working a long time ago. If Greg Lopez does take George Santos’ place with Matt Gaetz’s back-benchers, we imagine the two will be inseparable. Perhaps Lopez can even pick up some of the child care.

On second thought, let’s pass on that. Those kids have been through enough.