Controversial Colorado Republican House Rep. Lauren Boebert effectively got her ass handed to her by her GOP primary opponent, who slammed the gun-loving, MAGA-devout congresswoman’s weekly campaign smear ads that run on the front page of the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel’s Sunday edition as “Fake Headlines.”
Colorado state Sen. Don Coram is currently challenging Boebert to represent Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District.
Lauren currently remains in the lead against Corman, thanks in large part to massive campaign donations that absolutely dwarf her opponent’s. As it stands, Lauren has raked in a whopping $4 million, a huge overshadowing compared to Corman’s mere $89,000 in the first three months of this year.
However, Lauren’s GOP challenger was sure to point out, “Boebert’s contributions come from out of state, and those people don’t vote.”
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One of the Boebert campaign ads that Corman has criticized claims that the CO congressman “used his public office to unleash a multi-year $35 million scheme to line his own pockets.” Corman said this smear contains “Zero truth.”
It seems Boebert’s attack ad is referencing a 2017 bill co-sponsored by Corman that recognized industrial hemp as an approved agricultural product in the state of Colorado. This allowed the farming of hemp to be eligible for federal project water.
Colorado Newsline reports, “An anonymous letter was sent to the Durango Herald that year that said Coram’s processing company, Paradox Venture, would benefit from the legislation and thus was a conflict of interest. However, state statute and legislative rules exempt legislation when it benefits an entire ‘class,’ such as all hemp growers.”
“In 2019, Coram and his partners expanded cultivation to roughly 20 acres (out of 187,000 acres statewide). By then statewide supply had exceeded demand and most of the product Coram had invested in was not sold, he said,” the publication noted.
However, Coram shot back hard at his Republican opponent when he took aim at Lauren’s husband, who went from an oil rig foreman to a consultant for the oil and gas industry, stating, “Growing hemp is not near as lucrative as what my wife would earn by being a consultant.”
Boebert personally found herself on the receiving end of criticism and suspicions when she failed to disclose her husband’s nearly $500,000 annual consulting income in 2020 and 2021 — a direct spit in the face of ethics and campaign finance laws that mandates candidates to disclose and report all sources of income hailing from immediate family members as well as major investments and assets to allow voters to personally scan for potential conflicts of interest.
“I don’t know of a consultant — with no qualifications — who makes $500,000 a year off of one client,” Coram fired.
A Colorado Newsline reporter was able to reach Boebert on the phone regarding the topic, only for the Republican lawmaker to hang up on the reporter after snapping, “I have an idea, don’t call this number again.”
“Somebody is grasping at straws because she knows she’s in trouble,” Coram said of the numerous allegations his controversial opponent has lodged against him. “I’ve had no ethics violations and no investigations.”
“I operate through civility and communication,” he said, highlighting the difference between himself and Boebert.
“She’s never passed a single piece of legislation,” Coram, who has passed nearly 500 bills as a state senator, said of Lauren. “I’ve been in the minority for eight years, and the majority for four years and have had the same amount of successes both times. I’ve passed bills dealing with teen suicide, water, natural resources. Broadband, infrastructure, lower prices for prescription drugs, health care for rural areas.”
Referencing their first debate last month, the state senator said, “Anytime a question was asked she thumbed through it trying to find the answer her staff had prepared. I’d like to know if she’s qualified — or is it her staff? I was hoping to use the debates to show that. She fumbled, it was embarrassing. There were a lot of negative comments on how she handled herself, and her use of notes. I wasn’t expecting a prepared three-ring binder she’s been carrying around for a year. It shows she’s not prepared.”
Read the full report from Colorado Newsline here.
Featured image via Flickr/Gage Skidmore, under Creative Commons license 2.0
