DENVER — Candidates clashed at 9NEWS’ fiery Republican primary debate for Colorado’s 4th Congressional District.
The biggest name on stage was U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, who represents the state's 3rd Congressional District but is moving to run in the 4th District. Alongside her were Logan County Commissioner Jerry Sonnenberg, current state Rep. Richard Holtorf, former state House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, three-time congressional candidate and mortgage broker Peter Yu, and conservative activist and former talk radio host Deborah Flora.
Within the first few minutes, all six candidates established their allegiance to former President Donald Trump. Every candidate raised their hand when asked if they would still vote for Trump after he was found guilty of 34 felony charges Thursday afternoon.
Only Boebert said she would still vote to overturn the 2020 election results, knowing what she knows now. The rest of the five candidates said they would not.
Despite their early agreement, the candidates split off when it came to what’s best for Colorado.
IMMIGRATION
Immigration is a big-ticket issue in the upcoming 2024 election. Colorado’s seen its fair share of struggles, with the City of Denver cutting department budgets to find a way to take in an influx of migrants from the southern border as a sanctuary city. Many of the candidates have identified immigration and border security as their main focus in this race. Opinions on solutions, however, are mixed.
Boebert and Sonnnenberg agreed mass deportation is the best solution.
“I would use the police,” Sonnenberg said. “I would use the National Guard.”
Lynch has called mass deportation an extreme solution.
“If we start rounding people up and sending them across the border, we run the risk of seriously impacting our ag community in the state,” Lynch said. “We need to legislate. That’s what we’re asking for here.”
In a show of hands, everyone but Yu said they would vote to impeach President Biden over his handling of the southern border.
GOVERNMENT EARMARKS
The use of earmarks in Congress, where members request funding for specific pet projects in their district, has been a contested issue between some Republicans.
When Boebert was elected to Congress, she called earmarks “wasteful,” said they “foster corruption,” and were a way to “buy votes” before she started using them, too.
When asked if they would use earmarks to set aside money for Colorado, only three candidates definitively said yes: Lynch, Holtorf, and Sonnenberg. Yu said no. Flora said “it depends.”
While Boebert has been vocally against using earmarks in the past, she has historically taken credit for projects in Colorado that she’s voted against in Congress. They’re things like a bridge over the Roaring Fork River in Glenwood Spring and a water treatment plant in Gunnison. Even if she were the deciding vote, Boebert said would’ve still voted no to kill those projects in Colorado, saying she would have worked out a process to get those projects over the line.
CAN LAUREN BOEBERT WIN?
Despite being the biggest name running for Congressional District 4, several of Lauren Boebert’s fellow candidates lacked confidence she could win the seat.
In a show of hands, Lynch, Flora, Yu and Holtorf agreed that if primary voters nominate Lauren Boebert, she could realistically lose this race in November.
“I think it’s time we have someone in this seat, which is one of the reasons I’m running, where we can rebuild the party,” Flora said. “We can make it the big tent again, we can invite people to join us and we can persuade our neighbors that we don’t see them as the enemy.”
The voter makeup for CD4 is 47% unaffiliated, 35% Republican and 17% Democrat. The Republican candidate is most likely to win this race.
Boebert won her CD3 seat in 2020 by a thin margin against her Democratic opponent, Adam Frisch. In Thursday’s debate, she blamed no-show Republicans on election day for the close margin.
"When 50,000 Republican voters do not show up and think that their vote does not matter, that does make an impact on elections,” Boebert said.
Flora disagreed.
“I do think it is vulnerable,” Flora said. “I think the day of ‘that will never happen in Colorado’ is long gone.”
FIELDING ATTACKS FROM ALL SIDES
Fellow candidates casting doubt on her ability to win may have been one of the milder attacks Boebert fielded on Thursday’s stage. Her opponents also went after her record in Congress and her highly publicized theater incident from last September.
Holtorf asked Boebert about her success passing bills during her tenure in Washington D.C., specifically as a prime sponsor. After talking around the question, Boebert admitted she had only successfully had one bill signed by the president.
Later on, Lynch doubled down on questioning Boebert’s success in Congress.
“Congresswoman, zero bills passed, 24 votes missed, fewer comments, and I appreciate the fact that you've taken over my campaign slogan of delivering for Colorado. But can you tell me how you actually have delivered anything?,” he asked.
“My Pueblo Jobs Act has been signed into law, but I've also passed over 80 other initiatives that have been signed into law,” Boebert answered. “One single standalone bill is not the only way to get something signed into law.”
Lynch was the first to bring up Boebert’s behavior during the musical “Beetlejuice” inside the Buell Theater in Denver in September, 2023.
In response to questions about his DUI from 2022, Lynch said “This was before we had theater incidents or anything else that was embarrassing to folks.”
Holtorf brought it up again when talking about how Boebert dresses.
“I’m happy with my clothing options,” Boebert said.
“Especially at the theater, right?,” asked Holtof. “You’re really happy with those options, aren’t you ma’am?”
You can watch the full debate here:
Colorado's primary elections are five weeks away, and ballots go out June 3.
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