Advertising wars ramp up in 3rd Congressional District as primary to replace Lauren Boebert nears
In the final days before the Colorado primary election, attention on the race for the Republican candidate in the 3rd Congressional District is reaching a fever pitch as national political organizations hone in on the race.
Whoever is selected in the Republican primary will be up against former Aspen city councilman Adam Frisch, who narrowly lost to Rep. Lauren Boebert in 2022.
National groups seem to believe Frisch will be more likely to win the campaign if he is up against Ron Hanks, a former state lawmaker known for his hardline conservative views on abortion and immigration. Hanks attended the rally that later turned into a riot on Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol and has falsely claimed that Donald Trump won the 2020 election.
This week, the Congressional Leadership Fund, a national Republican political group, began running advertisements attacking Hanks and accusing liberals of attempting to prop up his campaign.
“Why are liberals supporting Ron Hanks? They know they can count on him,” the ad says.
Support Local Journalism
That comes in response to a left-leaning group, Rocky Mountain Values, releasing ads to boost Hanks’ profile and attack his opponent, Jeff Hurd. Hurd is seen as a more difficult candidate for Frisch to defeat. Local political groups on both sides of the aisle have spoken out against the political maneuvering.
Frisch’s campaign has also paid for its own advertising blitz in the days leading up to the primary election attacking Hurd, accusing him of “hiding” and refusing to say whether he supports former president Donald Trump.
Hurd’s campaign lambasted Frisch over the ads.
“Adam Frisch is employing the same dirty politics tactics that have caused voters to lose confidence in the political system,” according to a statement from Nick Bayer, a spokesperson for the campaign. “Frisch and national Democrats are irresponsibly propping a far-right, weak general election candidate in hopes of dragging him through the primary.”
Frisch’s campaign rebuked the criticism.
“As far as I’m concerned, the General election has started,” said Camilo Vilaseca, a spokesperson for the campaign, in an emailed statement. Vilaseca added the campaign is also running ads against Hanks.
The seat is currently held by Boebert, who announced in December that she wouldn’t seek reelection in the district and would instead move to a much safer Republican district on the other side of the state, Congressional District 4.
Boebert left the race after several prominent Republicans in the state endorsed Hurd over her. The state Republican Party has endorsed Hanks.
While there are four other Republicans vying for the position, few of them have gained much name recognition. A recently-conducted poll showed that more than half of the likely Republican voters in the district were undecided but that Hurd had a significant lead among those who had made up their minds.
Ballots have been sent out and are due to be dropped off at local ballot boxes by June 25.