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April 13, 2022 09:10 AM UTC

Don Coram's On The Ballot--And Taking The Fight To Boebert

  • 25 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols
Rep. Lauren Boebert, state Sen. Don Coram.

As Colorado Newsline’s Sara Wilson reports, yesterday afternoon the Secretary of State’s office announced that state Sen. Don Coram’s petitions were approved and he will appear on the June 28th Republican primary ballot in a two-way showdown against freshman GOP trainwreck that keeps on wrecking Rep. Lauren Boebert:

State Sen. Don Coram will face incumbent Rep. Lauren Boebert on the June primary ballot in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, election officials confirmed Tuesday.

The Montrose Republican had 1,563 valid signatures accepted on his petition, surpassing the 1,500 signature threshold. He will be Boebert’s only opponent in June after Marina Zimmerman failed to qualify via party assembly and decided not to pursue a write-in campaign.

Coram thanked people who signed his petition for what he called a “grassroots campaign.”

And via the Grand Junction Sentinel’s Charles Ashby, after some initial lip service to ignoring Boebert’s vitriol even as Boebert fearfully launched full-blast pre-emptive (not to mention factually deficient) attacks back in January, Coram is promising to take on Boebert’s “lies” directly–meaning he’s going to run against Boebert, not passively alongside:

Coram announced back in January during a Grand Junction press conference that he would seek the GOP nomination against Boebert, who was first elected to Congress in 2020.

The Montrose resident said he did that because he disliked how Boebert has conducted herself since getting into office.

“I look forward to setting the record straight on the lies Lauren Boebert and her supporters have peddled,” Coram said in a statement. “I will make the case to primary voters as to why I am the most qualified candidate to represent them and their families. Enough is enough. Let’s make Lauren’s first term in Congress her last.” [Pols emphasis]

That’s the fighting spirit anybody who wants Boebert ousted in 2022 needs to see–but can it be done? The answer lies in two further questions: whether Republicans in CD-3 are growing fatigued with Boebert’s high visibility, low productivity representation, and whether the district’s plurality of unaffiliated voters who will receive Republican primary ballots will turn out in enough numbers for Coram to overcome Boebert’s base strength.

To be clear, this is not a call for Democrats to re-register as independents in order to participate in the Republican primary, the so-called “Operation Chaos” gambit popularized by the late Rush Limbaugh which history shows is an empty threat. But there’s an argument that Boebert’s extremism is exactly what Proposition 108 was passed by Colorado voters in 2016 to address, by allowing unaffiliated voters to participate in either party’s primary.

And yes, this is why John Eastman and a hard-right faction of the Colorado GOP sued unsuccessfully to keep unaffiliated voters out of the 2022 primary after failing to get the party to take that step on its own. Their failure could be most consequential in the CD-3 Republican primary, while in the CD-5 primary between incumbent Rep. Doug Lamborn and far-right challenger Rep. Dave Williams unaffiliated voters are more likely to protect the incumbent. In both cases, unaffiliated voters would be acting as checks against extremism.

And that’s exactly what Don Coram wants to be. In this R+9 Republican leaning district, Coram represents the best mathematical shot at undoing Colorado’s foremost bipartisan embarrassment, and he’ll have his before Democrats get their own.

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25 thoughts on “Don Coram’s On The Ballot–And Taking The Fight To Boebert”

    1. Also cant find “AT Maymi Rios” I have searched FollowTheMoney no donor by that name I searched individual donors of Boebert… no such donor. I searched donor to any republican in the last 10 years none

  4. Coram was a prime sponsor of the bill that did away with the statute of limitations for civil actions arising out of sexual misconduct, so he certain can't be all bad.

  5. "That’s the fighting spirit anybody who wants Boebert ousted in 2022 needs to see–but can it be done?" Based on the demonstrated insanity at last weekend's GOP Assembly, I'm afraid the answer is either a) no, or b) yes, but the GOP and BoBo will cry election fraud. Kudos to Coram for standing up, though.

  6. "To be clear, this is not a call for Democrats to re-register as independents in order to participate in the Republican primary, the so-called “Operation Chaos” gambit popularized by the late Rush Limbaugh which history shows is an empty threat."

    Why not call for Dems to re-register and vote in the GOP primary?

    It is only an empty threat when people fail to do it.

    1. I don't know that Dems need to reregister to sandbag Two-gun Tootsie or Peters. I think there're enough unaffilliateds in the district and state to do the trick if they all vote the "R" ballot.

      1. I think the Guvs don't want to be responsible if Boebert starts crying about Dems meddling in her primary, which she's likely to do whether or not it's the truth.

        People are going to do what they're going to do. I personally have trouble with the idea that enough Dems would actually do it to make a difference.

          1. Only if you like winners like Polis, Bennet, Weiser, Griswold, Thomas, Degette, Neguse, Crow et al.  They are gearing up for the general by getting things done for their constituents.

            1. ?

              I am only curious why the Republican primary is more important than the Democratic one. I did the party switching thingy once. Didn't matter. 

              I will stick to my own party primary.

              1. So, there are limits to what you prepared to do to rid your district, our state, and this country of this woman you have labeled a threat not just to progressive policies but to democracy itself.

                It is more important to make your choice between Sol Sandoval, Alex "Shit Storm" Walker, and that wealthy architect from Aspen as to who will be the sacrificial lamb come November to go up against the Republican candidate? 

                Do I have that right?

                2. Duke can speak for himself, but consider his past arguments:

                  Repy le Pew Pew is a disaster who brings scorn to the whole Republican cause, thus pushing the state as a whole bluer.  She is so stupid she does no real damage beyond that which any Republican would do.

                  Coram, in contrast, is smart, hard working and would be a great asset to the oil and gas industry so many polsters hate.

                  Since either would vote for mccarthyite madness in Congress, bumbling Boebert is actually the less dangerous — because the stupider — of the two.

                  I not sure I agree with it, but Duke’s argument deserves respect.

                  I would add this.  Yes, 3 leans R by 9 points.  But whoever wins this bitter Republican primary will find it hard to unify the party in November.

                  Looking at the Democrats I think we all agree Poop Boy is unacceptable.  But can an uber left political novice from Pueblo beat Coram or Two Gun Tootsie?  I doubt it.  But Adam Frisch, a Western Slope businessman, might.  I can’t vote in CD3 but will send a check to the eventual Democratic winner unless, God Help us, it’s poop boy.

                  But Duke’s Law, Vote Blue, No Matter Who, is sound and if I was  a CD3 Democrat, I’d vote in my own party’s primary in hopes of winning the seat next fall.

                  1. But think about that next move on the chess board, V.

                    Coram is a vote for Speaker Kevin McCarthy whereas Bimbobert is a vote for Speaker Gym Jordan. And McCarthy, as much of clown as he is, has some John Boehner qualities. 

                    It likely doesn't matter anyway so Duke should probably keep his focus on choosing between Sandoval, the rich architect from Aspen, and Poop Boy.

                    According to that poll cited by Kiwi Tree, Bimbobert has a 72% favorable rating in the GOP and 36% favorable rating among U's. She had a 42% unfavorable rating among U's. Her standing among U's is slightly underwater – but not by much.

                    Even if all of those 42% of the U's returned Republican ballots and voted for Coram – which won't happen – and all 15% of the Republican voters who had an unfavorable view of Bimbobert voted for Coram, it wouldn't be enough to get Coram over the finish line. 

                3. I don't remember calling her a threat, but you can remind me. I see Coram as a much bigger problem. Pew-Pew is only a threat to decorum and your sensibilities. Coram is a threat to your health and Colorados' environment.

                  She is a GQP fool…he is a GOP tool…an effective one.

      2. The Sun did a  deep dive into CD3 Unaffiliated’s leanings last year.

        Some key findings:

        Some of the reddest, northern parts of CD3 ( as shown in the Sun’s analysis of counties) were drawn into CD2.

        Boebert and Trump’s margins were both about 51% in 2020- but about 6000 more voted for Boebert- so many must have left the Presidential ticket blank, or voted for a 3rd party candidate. Libertarians and Unity party got about 10,000 votes in 2020. My guess is that this conservative  group would vote more for Coram in the primary. 

        A March 1-4 poll of 500 registered voters in the 3rd District conducted by Global Strategy Group, a Democratic pollster, revealed that 41% of those surveyed have a favorable view of Boebert while 39% have an unfavorable view of her. The poll had a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.

        Here’s what the results were by partisan voter registration:

        • When it comes to Democrats, 10% said they have a favorable view of her, while 73% said they have an unfavorable view of her
        • Among unaffiliated and third-party voters, 36% said they have a favorable view of her, while 42% have an unfavorable view of her
        • 72% of Republican voters said they have a favorable view of Boebert, while 15% said they have an unfavorable view of her
           

          1. Uphill for sure for Coram but he has room for appealing to unaffiliated voters which should drive up his totals.  If an independent votes for Coram in the Primary, they might vote Dem in the General is Qbert if the Republican candidate.

        1. Done….

          I went onto the SOS website and changed my status from Dem to become an unaffiliated, and requested primary ballots for "all major parties."

          I'll return the GOP ballot because – as Dave Barnes has said – it is going to have much more interesting people on it.

          The SOS race is the easy one – we can't play games and risk having Tina Peters overseeing voting. But what of the other races….

          In the old days, I would pull for the wackiest nut job on the ballot for the opposition party to boost my party's candidate's chances. That changed after 2016 because, well it backfired …. in a big way.

          So, do I vote for Hiedi Heidi Ganahl since she didn't promise to pardon Tina Peters and there is at least a perception that she is closer to the mainstream than Lopez? Do I cast a write-in vote for the New Schwangler if she goes that route?

          And on the US Senate race, I see Hanks and O'Dea as equally wacky, nasty, and incompetent. I suppose I could skip that race and simply "undervote."

          I live in CD 7, have already donated money to Brittny Pettersen's campaign, and will vote for her in November. But should I vote in the primary for that Reichert guy talking about demons, or one of the other nut cases running against him?

          If Colin Larson has a primary opponent again, I will vote for Larson. That's an easy one.

           

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