Business: In her first term in Congress, Lauren Boebert rose to prominence as a 'Maga' phenomenon. The pro-Trump Republican party should be sliding for re-election in conservative western Colorado.
Instead, as the final vote counts, he faces a tough challenge from midway Democrats.
In September 2019, Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke stopped in Aurora, Colorado. Mr. O'Rourke has made gun control a centerpiece of his campaign, and at Aurora that day he doubled down on his call to ban semi-automatic weapons.
As he spoke, most of the audience applauded. Lauren Boebert didn't.
Ms. Boebert, 35, a restaurant owner and mother of four, had driven three hours from her Rifle, Colorado home to confront Mr. O'Rourke.
"I'm one of those American gun owners who hear you talk about 'yes, I'll take your AR-15s and AK-47s'," he said. "Well, I'm here to say 'hell, no you don't."
The moment - captured on video - went viral and became the talk of the conservative media. A Republican star was born.
He announced his bid to represent Colorado's third congressional district in Congress three months later.
The shocking episode captured much of the style of Ms. Boebert, the candidate and, later, Ms. Boebert the congressman: Combative, unbridled, and bold.
His 2019 candidacy seems like a long shot. To win the Republican nomination, he would have to beat the five-term incumbent Trump backed.
But during a campaign across a sprawling rural district — a vast expanse of land that covers half of Colorado — he "really beat it," said Kevin McCarney, a local GOP official in Ms. Boebert's district. "He's five feet if he's lucky - but the sacred cow, the energy."
Robert used that energy to relentlessly attack his opponent from the right, telling voters he was a better torchbearer for Trump's Republican party. It paid off.
On the campaign trail - often with a visible gun at her waist - Ms. Boebert began to introduce herself. Growing up in Colorado with his Democratic-voting mother, Boebert described a childhood spent in poverty, complete with “embarrassing” trips to the grocery store with nothing but food stamps to spend.
With her husband, oilfield worker Jayson Boebert, she started Shooters Grill, a restaurant in the Rifle where servers openly carry guns.
"I'm living the American dream," he said. "I came from welfare, waiting in line for government cheese, now running for Congress."
Much like his showdown with Mr. O'Rourke, Boebert arrived in Congress in January 2021 ready for a fight.
On one of his first days on the job, he chose to overturn the election results. Since then, he has fought relentlessly with his fellow Democrats and denounced President Joe Biden during his 2022 State of the Union address. Keeping up with his advocacy for gun rights, he vowed to take his gun to the Capitol and draw attention to a family vacation card featuring his four sons. the little one holding a gun.
He didn't pass any laws.
However, Ms. Boebert has been considered a shoo-in for re-election on Tuesday, leading a district where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by nine points. Poll site FiveThirtyEight puts his chances of winning at 97%.
And, in his district last month, voters spoke of their enthusiasm for his fighting spirit and instincts.
But there are some signs that that popularity may be fading, especially among moderate members of his party. Leading Republicans, including state Senator Don Coram, who fought Boebert in the primaries, called it a "shame" and backed his opponent, Democrat Adam Frisch.
Now, as the final vote counts, it looks like Ms. Boebert is fighting for her political life against Mr. Frisch, another political newcomer who campaigns as a self-described conservative businessman.
His defeat would mean a sudden end for one of the brightest stars of the Maga movement.
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