Republican Lauren Boebert defeats Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush to represent Colorado's 3rd Congressional District

• The Republican Lauren Boebert has beaten the Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush to represent Colorado's 3rd Congressional District, according to Decision Desk HQ.
• Boebert defeated sitting Rep. Scott Tipton in the Republican primary to advance to the general election.
• Earlier this year she came under scrutiny for her apparent embrace of the QAnon conspiracy theory, though she has since attempted to distance herself from the movement.
• The district fully covers Colorado's western border and parts of its borders with Wyoming and New Mexico.
• See the live coverage and full results from all US House elections.

The Republican Lauren Boebert has beaten the Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush to represent Colorado's 3rd Congressional District in the US House of Representatives, according to Decision Desk HQ.

The candidates

Boebert, a staunch conservative, is the owner of Shooters Grill, a Colorado restaurant aptly located in Rifle, Colorado, that has its waitstaff open-carry firearms during service.

In a major upset in June, she defeated the five-term incumbent Rep. Scott Tipton in the Republican primary by about 10 percentage points despite a cash disadvantage. In June 2020, she came under scrutiny for her apparent embrace of the QAnon conspiracy theory that has quickly spread across the US.

"Everything that I've heard of Q, I hope that this is real because it only means that America is getting stronger and better, and people are returning to conservative values," she said, according to the Associated Press.

While she expressed interest in mid-2020, Boebert has of late attempted to distance herself from the conspiracy theory as her campaign came under the spotlight.

"We are attempting to put this stupid [QAnon] thing to bed, but it's all some of [Boebert's opponents] have because they are looking for how are they are going to say that she is so popular out there with ordinary people, how are they going to go against her, and they're choosing stuff like this," her spokeswoman Laura Carno said in an interview with the Colorado Times Recorder.

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In her campaign ads, Boebert emphasized wanting to serve in Congress to fight against socialism, protect Americans' Second Amendment rights, and create jobs in Colorado.

Bush is a former tenured professor and Routt County commissioner. From 2013 to 2017, Bush served in the Colorado House of Representatives for the state's 26th District.

She defeated the seafood executive James Iacino in the 2020 Democratic primary election to move onto the November ballot. Her campaign was centered on protecting Colorado's environment and access to clean water, lowering prescription drug costs, passing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program into federal law with congressional action, and ensure reproductive rights.

Bush previously ran against Tipton in the general election in 2018, where she lost by a margin of 7.9 percentage points.

The district

Colorado's 3rd Congressional District covers the state's entire western border and touches the state's borders with Wyoming and New Mexico. It includes the cities of Grand Junction, Steamboat Springs, Pueblo, and Durango, as well as the upscale ski resort towns of Aspen and Telluride.

In the 2016 presidential election, the district voted for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton, 52% to 40%, according to the Daily Kos.

The money race

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Bush raised $4.1 million, spent $3.9 million, and had about $230,000 in cash on hand while Boebert raised $2.3 million, spent $2.2 million, and had about $88,000 in cash on hand.

What experts say

The race between Bush and Boebert was rated as "leans Republican" by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics and The Cook Political Report and "tilts Republican" by Inside Elections.