Lauren Boebert waits for election returns at a party in Grand Junction, Colo.
Photo: McKenzie Lange/The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel/Associated PressPandemic-related politics helped propel a gun-toting restaurateur to an upset win against a five-term Republican congressman in a Colorado primary, underlining the unpredictability the coronavirus outbreak is injecting into elections this year.
Lauren Boebert defeated five-term Rep. Scott Tipton on Tuesday night, winning by about 9 percentage points. Ms. Boebert, 33 years old, owns gun-themed Shooters Grill in Rifle, Colo., a small town about a three hours’ drive west of Denver. In her restaurant, Ms. Boebert encourages servers and patrons to openly carry firearms. Ms. Boebert has tweeted that she is never without her Glock on her hip.
An outspoken supporter of President Trump, Ms. Boebert dismissed the president’s endorsement of her opponent by telling local media she wasn’t sure Mr. Trump knew Mr. Tipton’s voting record. Her restaurant sells shirts that say “God, guns, Trump” in all capital letters.
She defied orders to close her restaurant during the pandemic until she was served a cease-and-desist order. She also mocked people on Twitter for wearing masks, including Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, a member of her own party who is often at odds with Mr. Trump. She has expressed interest in QAnon conspiracy theories alleging a “deep state” inside the government intent on undermining Mr. Trump.
Lauren Boebert and her husband, Jason, opened Shooters Grill in 2013.
Photo: emily kask/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesMs. Boebert said in May that she is very familiar with the QAnon movement in a web show called Steel Truth, hosted by a QAnon supporter. “Everything that I’ve heard of Q, I hope that this is real,” she said. Ms. Boebert’s campaign didn’t respond to a request for an interview.
Republicans and political prognosticators were shocked by Ms. Boebert’s win. Mr. Tipton was in Washington this week to vote against House bills on health care and infrastructure, rather than returning to his district for the election. He spent just $132,162 on the race, according to his pre-primary report, leaving nearly $630,000 in the bank.
A Colorado Republican familiar with the primary said Mr. Tipton’s internal polling before ballots were mailed out had the incumbent up by nearly 30 points. Turnout was unusually high: Generally 60,000 ballots are expected, but more than 100,000 Republicans voted this year. The person attributed the loss to people being upset over the pandemic and related closures, of which Ms. Boebert was a vocal critic.
The district’s Republicans “have decided who they want to run against the Democrats this November. I want to congratulate Lauren Boebert and wish her and her supporters well,” Mr. Tipton said.
U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton shakes hands with President Trump during a rally in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Feb. 20.
Photo: Michael Ciaglo/Getty ImagesMs. Boebert spent $119,797.61 as of June 10 according to the Federal Election Commission, nearly all she raised. She enters the general election with just over $13,000 in cash, which Democrats point to as a sign they can make the race competitive or to force Republicans to spend money in what otherwise would have been a safe seat.
In the general election, Ms. Boebert will face Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush, age 70, a former state lawmaker. Ms. Bush lost against Mr. Tipton in 2018 by about 8 percentage points. She enters the race with $350,757 on hand.
Colorado’s sprawling 3rd congressional district covers about a third of the state, including many rural counties in the west.
Several Republican incumbents have lost in their primaries this year. Iowa Rep. Steve King and Virginia Rep. Denver Riggelman both lost primaries in the past month. In an open seat in North Carolina, Trump-backed candidate Lynda Bennett lost to 24-year-old Madison Cawthorn.
Among Democrats, Rep. Dan Lipinski lost in Illinois and New York Rep. Eliot Engel is trailing in his primary, though the race hasn’t been called amid a delay in counting ballots.
In the wake of the upset in Colorado, Republican leadership said it was firmly behind Ms. Boebert, and Mr. Trump tweeted congratulations shortly after the race was called. Democrats and Republicans traded charges of conspiracy mongering.
“This is a Republican seat and will remain a Republican seat as [Speaker] Nancy Pelosi and senior House Democrats continue peddling their radical conspiracy theories and pushing their radical cancel culture,” said Rep. Tom Emmer, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
“Washington Republicans should immediately disavow Lauren Boebert and her extremist, dangerous conspiracy theories,” Rep. Cheri Bustos, chair of the House Democrats’ campaign arm, said in a statement.
Mr. Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee, on Wednesday expressed concern that the QAnon movement was gaining traction.
“I’m worried about people falling for unsubstantiated, uncorroborated conspiracy theories that frankly have no basis in fact that we know of,” he told reporters. “It’s a big party with a lot of people who have different points of views but I’m convinced that Republican principle will remain steady even though we’ve taken a departure from time to time.”
Write to Natalie Andrews at Natalie.Andrews@wsj.com
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