Boebert in 4th District, Evans in 8th win President’s Day Celebration straw poll in Windsor

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice

WINDSOR – The winding path of the campaign trail in Colorado’s 4th and 8th Congressional District races turned Sunday evening to the President’s Day Celebration hosted by the Conservative Patriot Alliance here at American Legion Post No. 109.

“There have been a series of debates and forums,” said David Huntwork, chairman of the Conservative Patriot Alliance and emcee of Sunday’s event. “Rarely are candidates allowed a significant amount of time to share about themselves. We wanted to provide that.”

Republicans vying for the Republican Party’s nomination in both districts participated in a meet and greet and a successive five-minute speech to the audience before a straw poll was conducted.

“This is a very non-scientific poll,” Huntwork  said. “It does help to get a feel for who is appealing to the voter. Each person has a right to vote both races, even if they won’t do so in an election. I think we saw some who chose to vote both races, and others who chose to vote just the one.”

In the 8th District, House District 48 Representative Gabe Evans continued his stranglehold on the race. The Fort Lupton resident received 63.2% support (67 votes) among the 106 ballots cast. Scott James gathered 27 votes of support, and Joe Andujo was provided 12 votes.

The second straw poll during a Weld County event in the 4th District flipped the script in the race. Windsor resident Lauren Boebert gathered 33 of the 125 votes cast (26.4%) to win the poll by seven votes ahead of Deborah Flora with 20.8% support. Mike Lynch finished third (18 votes) with 14.4% support and Trent Leisy was a vote back at 13.6%. Jerry Sonnenberg, who won the straw poll in the previous event in Weld County, finished fifth with nine votes (7.2%), in a tie with Peter Yu. Ted Harvey gathered eight votes for 6.4% support and Richard Holtorf had five votes for 4.0%. Three candidates did not attend the event.

An estimated 175 to 200 likely voters attended the event, including the candidates, staff and attendees.

“We want to find the best and most electable conservatives for the office we can,” Huntwork said. “We want people who will stand up for our values and principles. Also, we don’t want you just to be a politican, but a statesman as well. As you are able to meet candidates on a more personal level, you are able to make that decision.”

While the candidates each received a five-minute speaking opportunity, the meet and greet was of equal importance to that goal, Huntwork said.

“We could not have fit very many more people in the room. Every seat was taken,” he said. “If we had too many more, we might have broken the fire code. It was a very fun and positive crowd. I’m pleased with how it went.”

More information on the Conservative Patriot Alliance is available at www.conservativepatriotalliance.com.