Four Colorado Republicans rode Donald Trump’s coattails to victory in districts he carried. Then they turned around and voted against him. All four – Lauren Boebert, Jeff Hurd, Jeff Crank, and Gabe Evans – voted to override Trump’s veto of the Arkansas Valley Conduit funding bill. But that’s just the beginning of the problem.
Jeff Hurd represents the 3rd Congressional District, where Trump won by 10 points. In less than a year, Hurd has voted against Trump and Republican leadership three times.
In September, he voted with Democrats to block censuring Ilhan Omar after her disgusting comments about Charlie Kirk’s assassination. The vote was 214-213. Four Republicans broke ranks. Hurd was one of them. He helped protect one of the most anti-American voices in Congress from accountability.
In January, Hurd was the ONLY Colorado Republican to vote for extending Obamacare subsidies – breaking with leadership to support a blank check with no reforms, no income caps, no fraud prevention. Only 17 Republicans nationwide supported it.
He also joined a letter opposing any Medicaid cuts in budget reconciliation.
Three strikes. All siding with Democrats. All in a district Trump won decisively. Hurd campaigns as being “as exciting as a bread sandwich.” Turns out that means he won’t fight when it matters.
Lauren Boebert fled the 3rd District after nearly losing to Adam Frisch in 2022 (546-vote margin). She carpetbagged to the “safer” 4th District – the most Republican in Colorado, where Trump won by 18 points.
She won by only 12 points. A 6-point underperformance in Trump country.
Now she’s in a fundraising crisis. Third quarter 2025: Boebert raised $110,000. Her Democratic opponent Eileen Laubacher raised $2.5 million – outraising her 22-to-1. Laubacher has raised more than any non-incumbent House candidate nationwide. In the most Republican district in Colorado.
Boebert also defied Trump directly on the Epstein files, refusing to withdraw her signature from a discharge petition even after a White House Situation Room meeting with the Attorney General, Deputy AG, and FBI Director.
The Eastern Plains deserves better than a celebrity carpetbagger who can’t raise money and creates drama instead of results.
Jeff Crank and Gabe Evans both voted to override Trump’s veto. Otherwise they’ve been relatively solid, but that one vote matters. Are there no conservatives in the 5th and 8th Districts willing to remind these representatives who they work for?
The Bottom Line:
Hurd has a serious primary challenger in Hope Scheppelman, former vice chair of the Colorado Republican Party. She’s raised $169,000 and deserves conservative support. Three votes against Trump in ten months is disqualifying.
Boebert desperately needs a primary challenger. Where’s the actual Eastern Plains farmer or rancher who will step up? She’s vulnerable – being outraised massively in a solid Republican district she doesn’t even come from. The filing deadline approaches. Someone needs to file.
Primary elections exist to enforce accountability. Colorado Republicans have shown they’ll break with Trump when convenient. Time to remind them: Trump’s voters deserve Trump’s allies.
Bill Smith
Wray
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