Updated 9:34 p.m.
In a surprise upset, GOP challenger Lauren Boebert defeated Republican incumbent Rep. Scott Tipton for the GOP nomination in Colorado’s massive 3rd Congressional District. The conservative neophyte will face Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush, a former Routt County commissioner and state legislator.
Before the race was called, Tipton, who had been trailing all night, sent out a statement conceding. The Associated Press later called the race at 9:30 MDT.
“Third District Republicans have decided who they want to run against the Democrats this November. I want to congratulate Lauren Boebert and wish her and her supporters well,” he said.
The 3rd has been a reliable Republican seat for the last 10 years.
Boebert, a small business owner and staunch gun-rights supporter, ran to the right of Tipton, arguing he wasn’t conservative enough.
Tipton — who had been seeking a sixth term — was favored to win re-election. He received two endorsements from President Donald Trump, the most recent coming the day before the primary. Trump won this area of the state in the 2016 election.
Boebert, however, argued she was the true conservative who would back Trump’s agenda and the beliefs of the Tea Party faction in Congress. If she gets the nomination, she will go into the race without a lot of campaign cash. She has just over $13,000 on hand. Mitsch Bush has about $350,000 right now to put into the general election.
The primary results could put the reliably Republican district into play.
