Democrat Adam Frisch, a former Aspen city councilman who narrowly lost his bid in November to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, will run again to represent the 3rd Congressional District in 2024.
“November’s election results show us that Boebert is weak and will be defeated, which is why I have decided to launch my 2024 congressional campaign,” Frisch said in a written statement.
Frisch had already filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission to run against Boebert next year. His formal campaign announcement kicks off what’s likely to be one of the nation’s most closely watched congressional contests.
Frisch lost to Boebert by 546 votes, or 0.07 percentage points, in 2022. The margin was so narrow that it triggered a mandatory recount under Colorado law.
Boebert’s near-loss was shocking given the electorate in the 3rd District, which spans the Western Slope into Pueblo and southeast Colorado.
The 3rd Congressional District leans 9 percentage points in the GOP’s favor, according to an analysis by nonpartisan Colorado redistricting staff. Republicans have a voter registration advantage in the district, which has not sent a Democrat to the U.S. House since 2008.
Frisch will hold his first 2024 campaign event in Pueblo on Wednesday. He ran in a crowded primary in 2022, and it’s likely he will face Democratic primary opponents in 2022 as well.
Boebert has started fundraising for her 2024 reelection bid. “I won my last race by a razor-thin margin,” she wrote in a fundraising email sent out last month. “As you can imagine, left-wingers are going to rally around (Frisch) big time after they came so close this past election.”