Lauren Boebert’s 2022 re-election race is off to an expensive start

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert and a top Democratic challenger claim they raised a combined $1.3 million in the first three months of this year, an early sign that the 2022 contest for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District will be expensive.

Boebert, a freshman Republican from Silt, raised more than $700,000 last quarter, according to her campaign. In a statement, Boebert said it’s critical “for freedom-loving Republicans to take back the House” and to lessen the power of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“It’s time to stop Pelosi’s liberal train wreck from shutting down our businesses, shutting down our schools and wrapping and stacking thousands of foreign kids in foil like baked potatoes,” she said, referring to an influx of migrants that have overwhelmed detention centers at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Democratic state Sen. Kerry Donovan from Vail has raised more than $630,000 since entering the 3rd District race in early February, according to her campaign.

“Each person who chipped in is fed up with Lauren Boebert’s conspiracy theories, division and selfish, ideological agenda and are ready for real leadership that will deliver results to get the doors of main street businesses open, reduce the cost of health care, and keep public lands in public hands,” she said in a statement.

Donovan is one of six Democrats running in the 3rd District and the first to publicize her first-quarter fundraising. Candidates have until April 15 to file reports with the Federal Election Commission.

With the 2022 election still 19 months away, Boebert and Donovan’s fundraising claims signal a long and expensive contest to represent the 3rd District, which is a massive, Republican-leaning swath of western and southern Colorado. The district’s lines will be reconfigured during the redistricting process later this year.

The 2020 race attracted about $8 million in fundraising (not to mention spending by political action committees). Democratic challenger Diane Mitsch Bush raised roughly $5 million, and Boebert about $3 million, though Boebert won by 6 percentage points.

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