This is Democrat Adam Frisch’s second attempt to go to Washington to represent the 3rd Congressional District.
During his last run, the former Aspen City Council member came within 546 votes of defeating current GOP incumbent Rep. Lauren Boebert, the closest margin in a House race in the country that year. In that match-up, he pitched himself as the “pro-normal” candidate and railed against Boebert’s “anger-tainment” approach to politics.
Frisch announced his second run just three months after the conclusion of the 2022 race. But any hope for a rematch fell apart late last year when Boebert herself decided to switch districts. With the incumbent now out of the race, he has lost his biggest foil. Still that earlier race got him a lot of name recognition and campaign cash for his second attempt.
Frisch has continued to hit the road in the district, traveling more than 65,000 miles in the district in two-plus years. He said he’s running again to be a pro-Western and Southern Colorado voice in D.C. who will get stuff done. And while his focus has been on his race in CD3, Frisch was one of the first Colorado Democratic candidates to call for Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race.
The businessman has two kids with his wife, Katy. He’s also campaigned on access to reproductive health, citing his father, who was an OBGYN, in saying the government will not make a better decision than a woman and her doctors.
CPR News is part of Voter Voices, a statewide effort to ask Coloradans what issues matter most to them in this election. We used those responses to develop the questionnaire CPR sent to major party candidates.
Adam Frisch on the economy and cost of living
What would you do, as a member of Congress, to address the cost of housing?
The statewide shortage of safe, stable housing that working Coloradans can afford is a crisis for families across CD3 - and sky-high demand for housing isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. We need to double down on building as much housing as we can, as quickly as possible.
When I served on my local city council for 8 years, I invested most of my efforts towards addressing the housing affordability crisis. Since starting campaigning in CD3, I have driven over 65,000 miles across our district visiting communities like Dinosaur and Walsenberg, and I know that without stable housing, it is really hard to have a stable life.
I was happy recently to tour a new affordable housing project in Archuleta County that is a true public/private partnership with real affordable houses being built for real families. In Congress I will work to promote those types of projects and secure resources from DC to help close the gap for Coloradans and reinvest in our district - particularly in underserved communities - while making sure local communities retain control over their housing and zoning laws. I’ll fight to break the regulatory logjam and make housing more affordable and easier to attain.
What can Congress do to address inflation, particularly around the cost of food?
Families across CD3 are struggling to afford the things they need like gas and diesel for their cars, health care, insurance, and groceries to put on the table, all while politicians from both parties spend too much money and mega corporations price-gouge hardworking Coloradans.
Unfortunately, too many of the people tasked with solving this challenge are under the influence of the staggering amount of money that has flooded our politics, especially from large corporations that line the pockets of politicians and prevent us from lowering costs. Unlike my opponent, I am proud not to take any corporate PAC money.
Since 1992, Colorado has lost almost 3 million acres of agricultural land, which directly affects the supply of food to people’s kitchen tables. Colorado, and especially CD3, must also fight back against the consolidation of the food industry in the hands of giant multinational corporations that squeeze profits, buy up farmland from family operations, and leave our local farmers and ranchers struggling.
In 1980, farmers received 31 cents for every $1 in food revenue - today that number is just 14 cents. The highest and best use for thousands of acres in CD3 is farming. By ‘rightsizing’ regulations and cutting taxes that hurt small businesses we can chip away at consolidation in the ag industry, bring down prices, and produce more food right here in CD3.
Context: Both Frisch and Hurd have accepted PAC money, be it leadership, labor (for Frisch), trade associations, or issue-oriented PACs. As of the most recent filing ending in June, Hurd had received corporate PAC contributions for his primary run, according to the FEC.
What are your views on raising tariffs on foreign goods?
Sweeping tariffs on foreign goods are totally counterproductive and will only make everyday goods families depend on more expensive when other countries retaliate, which is what happened in 2017-2018.
Anyone who tells you that tariffs will be paid by someone else is lying — they are nothing less than a direct, painful tax on Colorado consumers. They are also terrible for our hardworking agricultural producers who stand to lose access to important export markets.
Nationally, direct U.S. agricultural export losses due to retaliatory tariffs totaled more than $27 billion during 2018 through the end of 2019. With too many families already struggling to afford groceries to put on the table, the last thing we need are more tariffs. CD3’s farmers and ranchers need a representative who is focused on what’s good for Western and Southern Colorado, and I’ll stand up against these misguided policies so they can continue to sell their world-class products in markets across the globe.
Adam Frisch on democracy and good governance
What are your top three ideas for reforms to make Congress work better?
1. There is simply too much money — especially corporate dollars and dark money — in politics, and it’s a big part of why everything feels so broken. Unlike my opponent, I refuse to take corporate PAC money. I’ll fight to shine a light on dark money and will push to clean up our campaign finance system so our politics work for everyday families, not special interests.
2. Members of Congress should be banned from trading stocks while in office. Nobody should be allowed to profit off the inside knowledge and connections they’ve made serving our country. Banning stock trading will fight corruption and restore confidence in our leaders.
3. Unlike my opponent, I fully support term limits for Congress. Too many members of Congress hold their seats for decades, which minimizes the number of new ideas and fresh faces leading our country. While experience is important, incumbency too often leads to complacency and is part of why the government is failing to address the challenges we face. Term limits will help ensure Congress stays more responsive to the people they represent.
Context: CPR News reached out to Hurd’s campaign for his views on term limits. They said he supported them in theory but has not signed a pledge or committed to a specific length.
If control of the federal government remains divided between the parties after the election, how do you plan to be effective for your district?
I’m not a partisan guy. Regardless of the outcome of the November elections, I will focus on doing what’s right for families in CD3, regardless of who comes up with the idea. My strategy for being effective while representing CD3 in Congress would not change based on which political party is in charge. Regular people are fed up with politics, which is why I won’t be a yes-man for either party. I’ll work across the aisle and forge connections with serious people in both parties, so we can turn the temperature down and start addressing the real challenges that face communities like the ones in CD3.
My first stop once elected is to join the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, made up of an equal number of members from both parties, to focus on issues that deserve and need bipartisan solutions.
After driving over 65,000 miles across our huge district, I can confirm the vast majority of people view themselves as rural Coloradans — not Republicans or Democrats — who want both parties to stop the petty arguments and political grandstanding and start working together to help make everyone’s lives better.
There is an initiative on Colorado’s ballot to do away with party primaries and institute ranked choice voting. How will you vote on it and why?
One of the largest problems facing Colorado and the nation is there are not enough people elected to office that represent the vast majority of those of us who want normal, thoughtful, common sense leadership that brings people together instead of driving them apart.
I am supportive of any initiative that works towards electing more people who share my mindset of being in a ‘Get Stuff Done’ Party. I believe this ballot question, if approved, will give voters the power to elect leaders who are more representative of the general population, and bring more people in to participate in our elections - to me those are integral to a healthy democracy.
Do you trust the current electoral system in Colorado? What about the rest of the country?
Yes. I have full faith in Colorado’s voting system and integrity, and thank all 64 of our county clerks and the hard working men and women in their offices. Our election workers and administrators take exceptional care to make sure our elections are safe and secure, and I am grateful for their work on behalf of our democracy.
Adam Frisch on immigration
How should the U.S. Congress address current and future waves of people crossing at the border?
We desperately need to secure our Southern Border in a humane, legal way. The reality is our immigration system is broken — but politicians on both sides of the aisle seem more interested in scoring political points than solving the problem.
CD3’s current and future economic prosperity and our national security depend on a border that operates safely and efficiently. We need to secure our border with more agents, provide updated technology to law enforcement to detect fentanyl and other contraband infecting our communities, and allow for more judges to support our legal immigration systems. Then we can begin to work on reforming our immigration system in fair, merit-based ways that provides an updated agriculture worker visa program for our ranchers and farmers and supports Dreamers.
Name one aspect of the current legal immigration system the U.S. Congress should reform or abolish, and why?
Colorado’s agricultural industry relies heavily on the ag farmworker visa program to ensure there are enough hands in fields to bring in their harvest and put food on all of our tables. The H-2A program allows farmers to bring workers to the United States to fill temporary or seasonal agricultural jobs (usually lasting no longer than one year) if U.S. workers are not available.
This program - along with other aspects of our immigration system - has been mired in partisan deadlock for years, and is in desperate need of updating. The labor supply for farms continues to shrink, which is why I’ll push to modernize and streamline the H-2A program so that Colorado ag employers can hire the workers they need to get the job done.
What should the U.S. do about people who have lived in the country for a long time without documentation, including so-called Dreamers?
I fully support the Dreamers. They are the unfortunate victims of a longstanding crisis born out of decades of inaction on both sides of the political aisle to address this issue. We need to summon the courage to reform our broken immigration system system and secure our border, so that we can turn our attention to doing right by the millions of immigrants already living here who contribute so much to our society and economy.
What do you think of former President Trump’s call for mass deportations?
I do not support calls for mass deportations. I visited the Southern Border recently, and I know that it desperately needs to be secured, because CD3’s economic prosperity and our national security depend on a border that operates safely and efficiently. Unfortunately for years both parties have instead chosen to play politics than find solutions. Our immigration system is broken, which is why we need to create an orderly and fair, merit-based process that includes more support and resources to secure our border with more agents, provides updated technology to law enforcement to detect fentanyl and other contraband infecting our communities, and allows for more judges to rule on asylum claims.
Adam Frisch on climate and natural resources
What is the most pressing environmental or natural resource issue facing Colorado?
Water. Preserving Western and Southern Colorado’s water supply and defending it from leaving the area and flowing to the Denver metro or leaving the state is one of my top priorities. It’s critical that as much Colorado water as possible stays here for farming and ranching, recreation, and biodiversity.
My goal in Congress will be to sit on committees that allow me to be the voice and conduit for leaders and communities on the Western Slope and in Southern Colorado to make sure their water is managed according to their needs and in a way that supports them and their families. I'll use those positions to make sure CD3 receives the resources it deserves to support further improvements to the water system like improving existing storage facilities and securing more funds for the Arkansas Valley Conduit. These decisions should be guided by the water experts on the ground in CD3 and Colorado, not bureaucrats or politicians in Washington DC, and my goal would be to elevate those voices and ensure those needs are met.
What are the most urgent steps the country should take to address climate change, if any?
Communities across rural Colorado are experiencing the climate crisis first hand - especially through depletions of water supplies - and the CD3 is on the frontline. After driving more than 65,000 miles and talking to growers from across CD3, I have heard loud and clear that as our climate gets hotter and drier, our crops, livestock, rivers, and livelihoods are all being impacted. In Congress I will focus on helping Colorado farmers and ranchers prepare for even worse growing conditions. We must adapt to the reality that we’ll have much less water available.
The U.S. and the world are using an ever-increasing amount of energy, and Colorado has a proud history of producing that energy cleanly, reliably, and cost-efficiently. We also need to break the dam on permitting reform to build more transmission lines, continue development of renewable energy, and make sure no community is left behind as we transition to new energy options in our economy.
Should the federal government take steps to limit new oil and gas production on public lands?
Our national security and the economic strength of Western and Southern Colorado depends on us being a responsible leader in producing all-of-the-above energy here at home. The last thing we need is to enrich our adversaries like Russia, Iran, and Venezuela by empowering them to produce the energy that we won’t. We should be exporting energy, not our guilt.
CD3 is in a unique position to balance responsible domestic energy production while supporting our world-class recreation access, enhancing biodiversity, and making sure our farmers and ranchers can produce the food to feed the country.
