Lauren Bobert wins a crowded House GOP primary in a new Colorado district

Republican Rep. Lauren Bobert has won the primary in her new Colorado district.

The controversial congresswoman defeated five GOP challengers in a competitive primary in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District and will be favored to win the seat in the November general election.

Bobert won with over 43% of the vote. That means 91% votes were counted by 8.47 pm.

Bobert wore a Make America Great Again hat at his victory party in northern Colorado Donald Trump-branded sneakers And called for a unified GOP and building bridges with other Republicans.

“We need to get involved at the local level and start taking back our state,” he said. “And we need to be aware and never be lulled by the enemy. Don’t let anyone tell you that your voice doesn’t matter and that your vote doesn’t count. Because it absolutely does.”

Boebert currently represents Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, but decided to run in the more conservative District 4 after Rep. Ken Buck resigned earlier this year.

CD4 includes the eastern half of the state and includes Loveland and Windsor (both in northern Colorado) and Douglas County (south of the Denver metro area). Nearly half of the district’s voters are in Douglas County, where CBS News Colorado politics expert Shawn Boyd says Republicans are “less MAGA and more mainstream.”

Former President Donald Trump won Douglas County by just 7 points in 2020, even though Republicans outnumber Democrats in the county twice as much. Overall, Trump lost Colorado by 13 points in 2020.

Bobert gave up his seat after a near defeat in CD3 Democrat Adam Frisch In 2022. When he announced he was running for a different district in January, he said the move comes after “a very difficult year for me and my family.” That includes passing A major divorce.

During his campaign, Boebert touted his endorsement of Trump, which CBS Colorado Democratic political analyst Mike Dino says helped him greatly.

“President Trump’s endorsement can’t be understated. It was very helpful for her early on because it was a big risk for her to move away from the 3rd Congressional District. The Continental Divide,” Dino said.

Bobert also spoke extensively on immigration issues during the campaign. when CBS Colorado debate last monthHe called for mass deportations, saying undocumented immigrants are a major drain on institutions and services in this country.

“Build the wall, deport everyone,” he repeated in a line throughout his campaign.

CBS Colorado Republican Party political analyst Dick Wadhams said Bobert’s huge fundraising advantage over many of his opponents also gave him a big boost.

“Congresswoman Lauren Bobert had two distinct advantages in this campaign: her money in the bank and her name recognition as an incumbent congresswoman. None of her five opponents had anywhere near either of those,” Wadhams said. “So that big, wide field helped her a lot.”

Bobert reminded his supporters Tuesday night that “it’s not over” and that everyone should be involved in the presidential race.

“We need President Trump now more than ever in the race and the fight for the White House on Nov. 5,” he said. “We have a lot of work to do, don’t slow down, don’t give up.”

During CBS Colorado’s debate, several of Boebert’s opponents talked about their farming and ranching backgrounds, and in doing so indirectly highlighted Boebert’s new status for the district. Conservative radio talk show host Deborah Flora was the only candidate to directly attack Bobert for his action, criticizing him for “abandoning his neighbor on CD3.”

Flora described the controversial congresswoman as more concerned with being in the national spotlight than representing Coloradans.

“We saw how Lauren Bobert would represent us,” Flora said. “Missing key votes while chasing cameras instead of giving people real solutions and DC being at the center of the drama.”

Flora finished third in the primary poll with approximately 13.8% of the vote, and Jerry Sonnenberg was second with approximately 14.3%. Mike Lynch and Richard Holdorf each got 11%.

“The bottom line is that (Bobert) didn’t get over 50%, and I think that’s significant to consider,” Dino said.

Republican Greg Lopez won Tuesday night Special Election on CD4 and will serve the remainder of the term of the p. The Democratic primary in CD4 was too close to call at 9 p.m., with Trisha Calvares holding a slight lead (45%) over Ike McCorkle (41%).