GRAND JUNCTION — The race between Democrat Adam Frisch and Republican Jeff Hurd in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District was too close to call Tuesday night, leaving open the possibility that the district could be represented in Washington by a Democrat for the first time in more than a decade.
Hurd was leading Frisch by about 8,800 votes — or 3 percentage points — at 10:30 p.m. Most counties were set to stop tabulating ballots shortly thereafter.
The Associated Press estimated at 10:30 p.m. that about 75% of ballots cast in the district had been counted.
“We’ve known all along that, just like last time, this race was going to be razor-thin,” Frisch said in a written statement. “The race currently remains too close to call.”
Making up an 8,800-vote deficit will be tough for Frisch. The district leans in the GOP’s favor in terms of voter registration and past election results.
But Hurd, a Grand Junction attorney, is a first-time candidate who didn’t make much of a name for himself after launching his campaign in August 2023.
Frisch, a former Aspen city councilman, has effectively been campaigning for the seat for nearly three years. He ran in the district in 2022 against Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert and lost by 546 votes, but raised millions of dollars on the back of her unpopularity. (Boebert switched to the 4th Congressional District to seek reelection this year — and won Tuesday. Hurd entered the race before her move.)
Frisch used his Mount Sopris-sized campaign war chest this election cycle to dominate the airwaves heading into Election Day. Hurd raised a fraction of the money Frisch hauled in.
If Frisch ultimately climbs the steep hill to win, he would be the first Democrat to represent the 3rd District, which spans the Western Slope into Pueblo and southeastern Colorado, since early 2011 — and his victory would improve Democrats’ chances of retaking the U.S. House. The last Democrat to represent the district was U.S. Rep. John Salazar, who was unseated in 2010.
If Hurd loses, it will make it that much harder for Republicans to keep their majority in the U.S. House.
Hurd and Frisch share many of the same policy views. The main difference between the candidates is their stance on abortion, with Frisch opposing any government restrictions on the procedure and Hurd saying there should be some limitations, though not imposed by the federal government.
Democrats tried to improve Frisch’s chances by sending out a mailer to voters in the 3rd District that appeared aimed at persuading them to back the Libertarian candidate in the race in order to siphon support from Hurd. The mail piece from the Colorado Democratic Party included a picture of James Wiley and labeled the Libertarian from Pueblo “the strongest Trump supporter in the race.” It also included a picture of Hurd and called him “a corporate lawyer who won’t take a position on immigration or Trump.”
Wiley had 2% of the vote at 10:30 p.m.
Super PACs spent $1.1 million supporting Hurd and $627,000 supporting Frisch.
The Congressional Leadership Fund, a Republican super PAC tied to House Speaker Mike Johnson, poured more than $300,000 into the race in the final weeks of the campaign to help Hurd. It was a sign that the race was tightening. Americans for Prosperity Action spent nearly $740,000 on the general election after helping Hurd win a six-way Republican primary in June.
Meanwhile, Project 218 PAC, a Democratic group funded by a list of wealthy donors, spent more than $450,000 to help Frisch in the lead up to Election Day, much of it on TV advertising.
In Grand Junction, at Hurd’s watch party, there were displays of red, white and blue cupcakes. His children were in attendance, decked out in party dresses and pint-sized suits. He promised to be “serious, hardworking, prepared and accessible to the media.”
“I try to say I want to make local headlines, not national headlines,” he said of how he would operate differently than Boebert.
The last thing Hurd said was that he was “nervous.” That was after he introduced Mesa County Commissioner Cody Davis as a winner.
Hurd said he would have to wait for his own announcement.
Colorado Sun correspondent Sandra Fish contributed to this report.