Voters in La Plata County are turning out ahead of the June 28 primaries as they seek to steer their parties in contested races for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District and other state offices.
As of Monday morning, about 6,100 voters had returned mail-in ballots in La Plata County, a fraction of the county’s 41,101 active voters, but on pace to top turnout in the 2018 midterm primaries, said La Plata County Clerk and Recorder Tiffany Lee.
This year’s returns mark a roughly 39% increase after voters submitted 4,400 ballot eight days ahead of the 2018 primaries.
“From what I’m hearing, Congressional District 3 and secretary of state are really drawing people’s attention,” Lee said.
While La Plata County’s local primaries are uncontested, both parties must decide their candidates for the 3rd Congressional District, which covers the Western Slope and includes Pueblo County.
For Republicans, incumbent Congresswoman Lauren Boebert is facing off against state Sen. Don Coram. The two met last month in a fierce debate in Ignacio in which Boebert chided Coram for not being conservative enough, saying, “I ran as a conservative and I won as a conservative. I legislate as a conservative because I am one, and I will win this primary because I’m the only conservative in this race.”
Boebert has a commanding lead in fundraising with a total of about $5 million raised and more than $2 million in cash on hand, according to the most recent Federal Election Commission filings.
Coram had raised approximately $225,000 as of June 8, but he has portrayed himself as a moderate counterweight to Boebert’s often incendiary approach. During their May debate, Coram highlighted his willingness to work across the aisle and his track record of passing legislation in Colorado state government.
Dave Peters, chairman of the La Plata County GOP, said it appears as if many Republican voters favor Boebert.
Party races for governor and U.S. Senate, as well as Colorado secretary of state have also been bringing out Republican voters, Peters said.
“Whoever the candidates are, we’ll be supporting them,” he said.
Democrats have a three-way race for the 3rd Congressional District with Adam Frisch, Sol Sandoval and Alex Walker vying to represent the party in November’s elections.
The three candidates have been united in their message that voters must oust Boebert.
Frisch, a businessman and former city councilor from Aspen, has led the fundraising charge for the Democrats, nearly tripling the money Sandoval, a social worker and community organizer from Pueblo, has raised with about $2.5 million. However, Frisch has personally contributed more than $2.2 million to his campaign.
Walker, an engineer, trails by a significant margin having raised $250,000.
Anne Markward, chairwoman of the La Plata County Democrats, said the COVID-19 pandemic has limited the extent to which the three candidates have been able to campaign in La Plata County.
“I get the impression that people are not as familiar with them as they would be in past votes,” Markward said.
No matter which candidate wins, that person will face an uphill climb after redistricting, which takes effect for the first time in the 2022 general election, and makes the 3rd Congressional District lean more Republican.
“Redistricting really depressed Democratic belief in our own ability to win this easily,” Markward said.
With Democratic control over many of Colorado’s state and national offices and party voters satisfied with those in office, turnout among Democrats in La Plata County for this year’s primaries will likely be lower, she said.
Complicating turnout for both parties is a wave of Democrats who are changing their party affiliations to attempt to block Boebert in the Republican primaries.
In Colorado, unaffiliated voters are allowed to vote in either party’s primaries after voters approved a 2016 ballot measure.
Since February, 1,357 Democrats in La Plata County have flipped to unaffiliated. Over that time, 67 Republicans have registered as unaffiliated voters.
“I’m very disappointed in that,” Peters said. “The Republican Party and Democratic Party are private organizations, and even though it’s legal to do what they did, I think meddling in the other party’s elections is not right.”
Peters said the move by some Democrats showed why Republicans have sought to block unaffiliated voters from participating in the primaries, though the party’s efforts have been unsuccessful to date with a judge throwing out a lawsuit by Republicans in April.
Markward said even with Democrats switching, the numbers likely will not add up. Boebert beat Republican incumbent Scott Tipton in the party’s 2018 primary by a relatively thin margin of just under 10,000 votes.
Across Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, significantly more than the roughly 1,360 Democrats in La Plata County would have had to become unaffiliated to affect the primary’s outcome.
The exodus will likely depress turnout when Democratic voters should be focusing on choosing the best candidate to unseat Boebert, Markward said.
“It’s going to have significant impact (on voter turnout) in La Plata County because we do have so many people who are activist voters, and they are doing what they feel is right,” she said. “I commend them for that. I don’t necessarily agree, but I commend them for it.”
Lee said over her more than-two-decade career in elections she has seen both parties take advantage of flipping their affiliations in primaries. Even with the political jockeying Lee expects strong turnout.
In midterm primaries, around 30% of voters in La Plata County cast ballots, but this year Lee expects that to top 40%.
In 2018, 30% of eligible voters participated in the primaries, while 44% voted in the 2020 primary, which was a presidential election year, according to state data.
Early voting for Colorado’s June 28 primaries began Monday in La Plata County, but as of Monday morning Lee had yet to have anyone vote in-person.
Lee said voters should not mail their ballots after Tuesday to make sure the La Plata County Clerk and Recorder’s Office receives them on time.
In-person voting will be available at the Clerk and Recorder’s Office at 679 Turner Drive in Durango through Saturday, as well as Monday and Tuesday of next week.
Bayfield Town Hall and the La Plata County Fairgrounds will also hold in-person voting next week.
Mail ballot drop boxes are open in Durango, Bayfield and Ignacio through June 28.
“Get out there and vote,” Lee said.
ahannon@durangoherald.com
