Montrose moderate Republican Coram eyes primary run against extremist U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert

State Sen. Don Coram said he is doing his “due diligence” in deciding whether to run for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District seat next year. 

The Montrose Republican could mount a challenge to incumbent Rep. Lauren Boebert in next year’s GOP primary, as first reported by The Colorado Sun. 

“I could go into the thousands of phone calls and text messages and emails from people throughout the district that have reached out to me to take a look at it,” Coram said in an interview. “The fact is I have a very solid record as a moderate who is kind of a ‘get it done’ type.”

Boebert currently represents the majority of Eagle County and most of the Western Slope in the massive 3rd Congressional District. Due to re-districting, just the southwestern corner of Eagle County will be in CD3 next year, prompting Vail state Sen. Kerry Donovan, a Democrat, to withdraw from the race.

Coram is entering the final year of his first term as a state senator, representing Senate District 6. In the latest round of redistricting that takes effect next year, he was drawn into the same district as state Sen. Bob Rankin, whose current term ends in 2025. Therefore, Coram is unable to run for reelection to the state Senate.

Coram represented House District 58 as a state representative from 2011 to 2017. 

He said he would make a definite decision on whether to run in early January. Primary elections are next June, where Coram would face Boebert. The other registered Republican in the race is political newcomer Marina Zimmerman.

Right now, Boebert’s campaign has over $1.7 million in cash on hand, according to its most recent Federal Election Commission filing. That could pose a formidable challenge for later entrant in the race, but Coram said he could offer “respectful representation” if elected.

“I don’t see myself running against Boebert,” he said. “I see myself running for Colorado.”

He did not say whether Boebert’s recent Islamophobic comments against Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar further swayed him to consider entering the race, just that the requests for him to run have been numerous and consistent. He did criticize the intense polarization in Congress.

“I’m concerned that we as a state and as a nation have extremes on both sides. The left and the right seem more hell-bent on dividing our nation rather than uniting our nation,” he said.

As for the 2020 election, which many far-right politicians have claimed without evidence was fraudulent and “stolen” from former President Donald Trump, Coram said he hasn’t seen any proof of that. 

“I think everybody wants to have a conspiracy, but to me, 2020 is behind us,” he said. “I’m looking to ‘22 and ‘24.”

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