April 05, 2023 12:23 PM UTC

Lauren Boebert To Get The "Full Cory Gardner" In 2024

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• by: Colorado Pols

NBC News reported Monday on the rollout by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee–DCCC or “D-Trip” if you want to say it like the cool kids–of their initial slate of 31 Republican-held seats races they’ll be working to flip in 2024. And after coming within 546 votes of losing her on-paper R+9 seat last November, Colorado’s two-term trainwreck Rep. Lauren Boebert is the poster child of the campaign, along with serial liar Rep. George Santos who can’t seem to keep out of photos with Boebert:

Democrats have targeted 31 Republican-held districts in their fight to retake control of the House in 2024, laying out an aggressive map and signaling early plans to go on offense.

The list, first reported by NBC News, is a blend of ultra-competitive districts in places like New York’s Hudson Valley and Long Island, including the seat held by Rep. George Santos; areas President Joe Biden won, like the Omaha-core seat held by Rep. Don Bacon; and conservative-leaning districts where the party sees an extreme and vulnerable GOP incumbent, such as Rep. Lauren Boebert in Colorado.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee executive director Julie Merz said in an interview that the party’s strategy is to present Biden and the Democrats as “team normal” against a chaotic band of “MAGA extremists” they say have taken over the House Republican conference.

With Boebert refusing to change her chaos-seeking course and continuing to alienate swingable voters in her district by ignoring and even self-sabotaging progress on the issues that matter locally, Democrats have every reason to believe they can close the narrow gap Adam Frisch achieved last November. At the same time, Republicans are now fully aware of the disproportionate investment required to overcome Boebert’s weakness and save what should be a far easier seat for them to defend. At some point, obviously not today but when the time for tough decisions becomes necessary, Boebert’s vulnerability could result in her being “triaged out” of the Republican majority’s firewall.

In 2020, Democrats in Colorado successfully concluded a six-year war of attrition against Sen. Cory Gardner, whose unexpected and narrow win in 2014 marred the state’s blue-trending political maturation. And as the Colorado Sun’s Sandra Fish reports today, some of the strategists responsible for the long punishment and ultimate ouster of Gardner are assembling to give Lauren Boebert the same experience:

A dark-money political group aligned with Democrats that worked to block Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner’s reelection two years ago has been revived to target GOP U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert’s as she vies for a third term representing Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District.

Rocky Mountain Values, a nonprofit that doesn’t have to disclose its donors, is among the first major political groups to target Boebert’s 2024 reelection effort, though it likely won’t be the last after the congresswoman narrowly won a second term in November…

This year, the group is run by high-profile, experienced Democratic political operatives. Justin Lamorte, who managed U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet’s successful reelection bid in 2022, is executive director. Katie Stewart, a former political director for the Colorado Democratic Party and Durango resident, is the group’s regional organizing director. And Amber Miller, who served as spokeswoman for Gov. Jared Polis’ 2022 campaign and before that was Denver Mayor Michael Hancock’s spokeswoman, is the communications director.

With only the presidential race at the top of the ticket in 2024, Colorado Democrats will have the freedom to focus on three principal objectives: holding their historic majorities in the Colorado House and Senate, protecting Rep. Yadira Caraveo’s hard-won CD-8 seat, and ending Rep. Boebert’s reign of error. Unlike 2022, no one is under any preconceived notions that the race against Boebert can’t be won. The CD-3 race will have the undivided attention of the best minds and biggest checks.

Perhaps Cory Gardner will help Boebert make a nice landing on K Street when it’s over.