DENVER (AP) — Democrat Adam Frisch, who nearly unseated Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert in Colorado's 3rd Congressional District in last year's midterm elections, announced Tuesday he will run against her again in 2024.
Frisch, a former city council member from the posh skiing town of Aspen, said in a news release that his surprisingly strong showing revealed that "Boebert is weak and will be defeated."
He fell short of Boebert by 546 votes in November's election, which had to go to a recount because of the close margin. The thin margin stirred discussion of the far-right Republican's electoral vulnerability after pollsters and pundits thought she was a lock for reelection in the district, which covers the largely rural, conservative-leaning western half the state.
In a statement Tuesday, the congresswoman's spokesperson Ben Stout said Boebert "looks forward to continuing to serve Colorado's 3rd Congressional District, regardless of whoever runs against her."
As a freshman lawmaker in the U.S. Capitol, Boebert built a national profile with a pugilistic political style. She most recently helped lead an obstinate group of Republicans who defied the party line and held up Rep. Kevin McCarthy's rise to House speaker.
In the last election, Frisch targeted Boebert's political style, dubbing it 'angertainment,' and ran as a Democrat on a largely conservative platform. Frisch, downplaying his party affiliation, often introduced himself as a 'conservative businessman' hoping to entice disaffected Republicans and build a bipartisan political coalition.
He touted using the private sector to work out kinks in health care, promoted some natural gas and oil production in the district and the nation, and supported the removal of Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House in favor of "the next generation of leaders."
"It was the honor of a lifetime building a coalition of Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliated voters who rejected Boebert's extremism with their vote in 2022," Frisch said in a news release.
