From Pueblo to Mesa County, 3rd District congressional candidates are making a final push for votes before the election
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From Pueblo to Mesa County, 3rd District congressional candidates are making a final push for votes before the election

At a Trunk or Treat event this past Sunday, the parking lot at St. Anne’s Church in Pueblo full of cars decorated for Halloween. Among the many adults handing out candy to the costumed children was Adam Frisch, the Democratic candidate for the 3rd Congressional District.

“Hey, how are you? Happy Halloween,” he said to a kid dressed as Buzz Lightyear before putting some Tootsie Rolls in his bag, then greeted the kid’s parents and others. Some in the crowd asked for yard signs.

It was just another example of what Frisch has been doing day in and day out for almost three years now.

Frisch came within 546 votes of defeating the district’s incumbent congresswoman, Lauren Boebert, in 2020. He quickly tried to start a revengeraise a lot of money and build on the support of his first run. But then Boebert changed the political calculus when she announced late last year that she would run for re-election in a different, more conservative district.

That pivot left him facing a more traditional — and tougher — race, against Republican Jeff Hurd, a Grand Junction attorney, in this Republican-leaning district.

“I’ve been trying to convince people why they should vote for us, not just against anybody,” he explained. “It’s a message that’s much clearer to make because the national anger circus has mostly left the district.”

Frisch’s message to voters of all political stripes in western and southern Colorado is that he will focus on the district and will stand up to both parties, noting his calls to protect the district’s water and the fact that he was one of the first Colorado Democrats to say that President Joe Biden should step down.

“I think we’ve earned the trust of a lot of different people and people aren’t just robots, running around in Democratic blue uniforms and Republican red uniforms. They’re really tired of that,” he says. “People want somebody to show up.”

And showing up is exactly what Frisch has done. He has put more than 74,000 miles on his car campaigning in this large district since his first run in 2022, including more than 130 visits to Pueblo. That attention to the area is part of what led him to endorse Pueblo Mayor Heather Graham, a Republican.

Voter Pete Madrid handed out candy at Trunk or Treat dressed as Homer Simpson. The registered Democrat doesn’t always vote along party lines, but for this race, he said the choice was easy. “I always see Mr. Frisch here, over the last few years…come to Pueblo, come to my neighborhood. He talks the talk and walks the walk.”

For Frisch to have any chance of winning the race, he needs to do extra well here in the district’s most populous county. Pueblo has historically voted Democratic, making it something of a counterweight to the more Republican parts of the district. In 2022, he carried Pueblo by about 4,000 more votes than Boebert. Some Democrats here believe that if more of their constituents had turned 22, Frisch could have won.

But Pueblo has shifted from blue to purple over the past decade. The county went from Obama to Trump to Biden by just a few hundred votes in the last two contests. And Republicans have had some electoral victories at the local level in recent years, in this conservative Democratic town.

That trend worries local Democrats.

– We have become quite complacent. I think you’re going to hear that from people who are involved,” explained Victoria Marquesen, secretary of the Pueblo Democratic Party. “And I think that was a wake-up call for a lot of people.”

This year, she said, the party is more organized, with more volunteers calling voters and knocking on doors, as well as more involvement from union members. “The real effect, I think, of the unions and their help in this is that I think we’re seeing that base come back and get more energized.”

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Hart Van Denburg/CPR News

Union Avenue in Pueblo, Jan. 30, 2024.

Gary Thomas, a member of the Pueblo County Democrats’ executive committee, is worried about the Trump effect. Pueblo, a steel town that has struggled even as the rest of the state has prospered, has many of the kind of traditionally Democratic voters who have gravitated toward Trump’s version of the GOP.

“I think Frisch plays well across the union/non-union spectrum. However, I think Trump’s populist appeal has eroded our union support,” he said.

Frisch may end up outperforming Vice President Kamala Harris, but Thomas is concerned former President Donald Trump could also help lift his opponent Hurd.

That’s exactly what Michelle Gray, chairwoman of the Pueblo Republican Party, is hoping for. Her job is to get Republicans elected, and she has urged party supporters to vote their entire ballot.

“I see Pueblo changing. I think we have a lot more Republicans than we did before,” she said of the city.

While Gray is disappointed that the Republican mayor endorsed Frisch, she defends Hurd’s track record of visiting the Pueblo, even though he hasn’t been there as often as Frisch.

“He was at the state fair parade. He had teams here at the Fiesta Day parade. He’s been here campaigning, raising money,” she said, adding that information about those visits may not have been as well publicized as they should have been.

In a district as large as the 3rd — it covers 49,000 square miles, roughly the size of Mississippi — candidates must make daily choices about where to prioritize their time.

Frisch left the Pueblo event with plans to meet with dozens of other counties in the district before election night, hoping to show that retail politics can still play well in this era of nationalized congressional races.

For Hurd’s campaign, the electoral calculus means balancing all efforts in purple Pueblo with the need to energize Republican voters in the district’s much redder seats.

Republicans are working to elevate Hurd

One of those Republican strongholds is Mesa County, the second most populous county in the district.

On Monday, a volunteer came through the local GOP headquarters in Grand Junction to pick up signs and head out to knock on doors.

“It’s been pretty busy, having people come in looking for mostly Trump signs, Trump paraphernalia,” said Alice Bumgarner, chairwoman of the Mesa County Republican Party.

She said party volunteers in this conservative stronghold are excited to vote for Trump again. But when it comes to the congressional race, while holding the seat is a priority for the party, Bumgarner said there is less excitement. People here knew Boebert. Hurd just has much less name recognition and a very different political style.

Bente Birkeland/CPR News

Mesa County Republican Party Chairwoman Alice Bumgarner, October 28, 2024.

“A little more muted race,” she said of the seat important to the Republican Party to hold in her column. “I think sometimes people try to figure (it out) and are used to Lauren and her energy. It’s just a different kind of feeling for everybody.”

Stopping by the office that day was longtime Republican volunteer Richard Hathorne. Hathorne who wore a bright red “Ultra MAGA” describes himself as very conservative and said he was sad to see Boebert go.

“I like her politics,” he said. “She’s very connected to Trump and she believes in America first, or Americans first.”

Although he prefers Boebert’s outspoken style to the more low-key Hurd, Hathorne said he still supports Hurd. In fact, he has erected and maintained large billboards for Hurd along highways and other high-traffic areas of the county.

Bente Birkeland/CPR News

Longtime Republican volunteer Richard Hathorne stops by the Mesa County party office. 28 October 2024.

“He’s not as aggressive or vocal as Lauren, but that’s who he is. That’s his personality and hopefully it will work,” he said.

Hurd was in Grand Junction recently and met with volunteers at the party office to answer questions. Karen Kulp, who coordinates volunteers and manages the office, said it was important for supporters to see him face-to-face because, she acknowledged, Hurd doesn’t go to many local events. She said the response was positive.

“It’s been difficult because Jeff has such a large area and he’s had to be spread so thin that he hasn’t always been available in Mesa County,” she said. “Some people might interpret that as him not caring about Mesa County, but that’s not the case at all. He just hasn’t had the time.”

Hurd has largely run on a message of getting things done in Congress, compromising when necessary and not making a national splash with his behavior. At a debate he bluntly noted that he considered it a compliment to be called as interesting as a sandwich.

“It’s okay, rural Colorado doesn’t need excitement,” he went on to say. “I’m principled, but I’m also pragmatic.”

For voters, the relatively subdued nature of this race may also mean less concern about its outcome.

Janice Frame lives in Palisade. She proudly supports Harris and plans to vote for Frisch. But if the congressional race goes the other way and the 3rd district sends Hurd to Congress?

“I think he’ll be fine,” she replied.