Colorado’s Third Congressional District, which includes Mesa County, has certainly become livelier since the election of Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert in 2020. Most recently, Boebert made a series of outcries at President Joe Biden’s March 1 State of the Union. In one outburst, Biden was discussing the prevalence of disease among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, discussing “A cancer that would put them in a flag-draped coffin.” 

To this, Boebert responded, “You put them in, 13 of them!” referring to the 13 service people who died when Biden pulled the U.S. out of Afghanistan. She was met by groans in the audience. 

Boebert’s controversial remarks are not limited to the State of the Union: she has earned media infamy for equating the January 6 Capitol Insurrection to “1776” and making Islamophobic comments about fellow Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN), including calling Omar’s Congressional allies the “Jihad Squad.” In fact, Boebert first gained major publicity in 2019 when she yelled “Hell no, you won’t take our guns!” at then Presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke’s rally. 

The Congresswoman’s continual breach of decorum is no surprise, given her untraditional ascendancy to the House of Representatives. Boebert, then a gun-themed restaurant owner, defeated five-term incumbent Scott Tipton in a 2020 Republican primary, despite having no prior political experience. In the 2020 General Election, she became the first woman elected from Colorado’s Third District with 51% of the vote. 

In 2022, Boebert faces another election. She will face two Republicans in a Primary, State Senator Don Coram (R-6), and businesswoman Marina Zimmerman. The Primary looks favorable for Boebert, as her campaign has so far earned $3.6 million according to the FEC, while Coram and Zimmerman have yet to raise $100,000. 

Boebert will also benefit from a non-unified Democratic Party: there are currently ten candidates running for the Democratic Primary in the Third District. Currently, social worker Sol Sandoval has raised the most money among Democrats (about $500,000 according to the FEC). Regardless of who wins, Democrats face an uphill battle: Colorado’s Third District is ranked “Solid Republican” by The Cook Political Report and has not been won by a Democrat since 2008. 

Because of this, it seems that Boebert will likely be our Congresswoman for some time to come. While more controversial quotables can be expected on the horizon, it’s important to understand what Boebert’s re-election could mean for policy. Her campaign website does not have a policy platform, but it does state that Boebert is “Pro-Freedom, Pro-Guns, Pro-Constitution.” It remains to be seen whether or not she will deliver these goals in Congress.