Jeff Hurd won a crowded primary field on Tuesday night for the Republican nomination for U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert’s current seat in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District.
The Associated Press called the race for Hurd at 8:11 p.m. Hurd, a Grand Junction attorney, emerged at the front of a pack of six GOP candidates and was leading with 33,990 votes, or 42% of the total, in results posted to the Colorado secretary of state’s website as of 9:55 p.m. He was followed by Ron Hanks, with 28%, Stephen Varela with 10%, Lew Webb with 8%, Curtis McCrackin with 7% and Russ Andrews with 6%.
“The clear message that I took from voters here tonight is they’re serious about keeping this district Republican,” Hurd said. “I’m very happy, energized and ready to move to November.”
He described himself as a local guy who grew up in the 3rd Congressional District, so he “understands how Joe Biden’s policies are hurting rural Colorado.”
He listed key issues in his area as cost of food, lack of jobs and inflation. His constituents are looking for “someone who’s looking not to make national headlines, but local headlines; someone who’s willing to roll their sleeves up and get stuff done,” Hurd added.
He will face off in November against Adam Frisch — the Democratic nominee, who ran unopposed in the primaries.
“I just want people to know that I’m on team CD3, and this is not about partisan politics — or politics at all,” Frisch said in a phone interview on Tuesday night. “This is about making sure everyone’s lives are easier a little bit later on down the road when I’m in office.”
Frisch said he wants to serve as “a very independent voice.”
While the seat has belonged to Boebert for two terms, she barely held onto it two years ago in a narrow race against Frisch, winning by just hundreds of votes. Since then, she’s changed her political strategy by moving to eastern Colorado to vie for the 4th Congressional District seat instead.
Boebert’s former territory on the Western Slope is a conservative-leaning district and includes Grand Junction, Pueblo, Gunnison and Durango.
Among the other candidates, Varela is a Colorado Board of Education member, Hanks is a former state House member, Webb is a former California car dealership owner, Andrews is a financial adviser and McCrackin is a business owner.
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