April 16, 2024 01:03 PM UTC

Adam Frisch's Yuge Post-Boebert Q1: This Game's Still On

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• by: Colorado Pols

A press release from Democratic CO-03 candidate Adam Frisch yesterday celebrates yet another big quarter of fundraising success, continuing to assert ownership of this marquee swing-able race even after the flight of critically endangered Rep. Lauren Boebert to the crowded CO-04 Republican primary across the state:

The Adam Frisch campaign for Colorado’s 3rd congressional district raised $1.4 million with $5.8 million cash on hand in the first quarter of 2024. These numbers show continued enthusiasm for a campaign that has remained focused on delivering for our district.

“I want to thank everyone who has shown continued support of our campaign and my vision to bring real representation to CD3. I’ve driven over 50,000 miles since February 2022 — meeting with and listening to voters about their real concerns when it comes to raising families, securing good-paying jobs, and protecting our rural way of life,” said Western Slope businessman Adam Frisch. “My unwavering focus is not on Team Red or Team Blue, but Team CD3.”

This quarter’s average donation was just over $28 from more than 49,689 individual donations. Frisch remains steadfast in his pledge to not accept contributions from corporate PACs. Support from CD3 voters remains strong with donations coming from all corners of the district, and nationwide support also continues with donations from all 50 states received.

Boebert’s defection over the Christmas holiday from the CO-03 to CO-04 race was a frank recognition of Frisch’s momentum, even as Boebert’s own re-election campaign was imperiled by self-inflicted wounds culminating in one of the costliest heavy petting sessions in modern political history. The conventional wisdom held that Boebert’s departure would reduce interest in the CO-03 race in general, since Boebert’s weakness was presumed to be a key factor in Democratic competitiveness in this GOP-leaning district. There’s no better reply Frisch could have delivered to this presumption than raising another huge haul in the first quarter, meaning entirely raised since Boebert switched races. While it’s less than Frisch raised in the final quarter of 2023, it still dwarfs the performance of the ostensible GOP frontrunner Jeff Hurd, who raised less than $250,000. Hurd’s opponents for the CO-03 GOP nomination, Stephen Varela and “Raging” Ron Hanks, raised much, much less.

It’s worth remembering that the relatively unknown Jeff “You’ve Never” Hurd was given his chance to run for Congress mostly due to the fact that more experienced Republican candidates in the district were too afraid of Boebert to directly confront her–to say nothing about emerging damaged from a scorched-earth primary against the state’s foremost fountain of vitriol (see: Coram, Don). With Frisch continuing to dominate fundraising and campaigning like it’s still the grudge match of the century, we’d say their apprehension was and remains well-placed.

Boebert may have “taken one for the team” by giving up her CO-03 seat, but Frisch could still make Republicans pay for her sordid legacy in November.