Lauren Boebert is an American politician, businesswoman, and gun-rights activist from the state of Colorado. She became the Republican nominee for in the 2020 elections, defeating incumbent congressman Scott Tipton. She is the first primary challenger to defeat a sitting U.S. House Representative in Colorado in 48 years. She owns Shooters Grill, a restaurant in Rifle, Colorado, where staff members are encouraged to openly carry firearms. Boebert had expressed support of QAnon, a far-right conspiracy theory, though she later stated that she was "not a follower" of QAnon.
Early life
Boebert was born in Florida. When she was 12 years old, Boebert moved with her family to the Montbello neighborhood of Denver and later to Aurora, Colorado, before settling in Rifle, Colorado, in 2003. Boebert has said that her parents were Democrats, and that they lived in poverty in Denver, where her mother received welfare. Boebert credits her first job at 15 years old, at a McDonald's, with changing her views on whether it was necessary to get government assistance.
Career
Business
Boebert and her husband opened Shooters Grill in Rifle, Colorado, in 2013, after her husband was laid off from his job. After a person was assaulted in a nearby alley, Boebert obtained a concealed carry permit and began encouraging the servers in the restaurant to open carry firearms. They also opened a restaurant called Putters on the Rifle Creek Golf Course in 2015. In mid-May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she violated the state's stay-at-home order by reopening Shooters Grill for dine-in service. Although Boebert received a cease and desist order from Garfield County, she said she would not close her business. The next day she moved tables outside, onto the sidewalk, and in parking spaces. The following day, Garfield County suspended her food license. By late May, with the state allowing restaurants to reopen at 50% capacity, the county dropped its temporary restraining order.
In December 2019, Boebert announced her candidacy for of the United States House of Representatives in the 2020 elections, beginning with a challenge to incumbent Scott Tipton in the Republican Party primary. During her campaign, Boebert criticized Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other members of "The Squad", positioning herself as a conservative alternative to Ocasio-Cortez. Seth Masket, a political science professor at the University of Denver, suggested that Boebert wanted to motivate Republican voters to participate in the primary, during a slow election cycle, by stirring up their anger at Ocasio-Cortez and others. Boebert criticized Tipton on his voting record, which she said did not reflect the point of view of the 3rd district, and that Tipton voted with Democrats too often. Before the primary, President Donald Trump endorsed Tipton. During the campaign, Boebert characterized Tipton as unsupportive of the president. Boebert accused Tipton of supporting amnesty for undocumented immigrants by voting for H.R. 5038, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019, saying that the act has a provision that leads to citizenship and also provides funding to undocumented farm workers for housing. Boebert criticized Tipton's efforts on funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, saying that he did not fight hard enough for more money for the program considering the program ran out of money within two weeks. On June 30, 2020, Boebert defeated Tipton by a 54.6% to 45.4% vote to win the Republican nomination. Boebert was the first primary challenger to defeat a sitting U.S. Representative in Colorado in 48 years, since Democratic Representative Wayne Aspinall lost to Alan Merson. Boebert has pledged to join the Freedom Caucus if elected to the House. Boebert will face former Democratic state representative Diane Mitsch Bush, a retired sociology professor from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, in the November general election. Boebert has said that she believes that Bush's "platform is more government control" and Bush has a "socialist agenda". Also of late July Boebert was the front-runner to win November election against Bush. During the campaign, Boebert expressed tentative support of the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory while appearing on a QAnon-supporting web show, saying, “Everything I've heard of Q, I hope that this is real because it only means America is getting stronger and better." QAnon, which has been classified as a domestic terrorism threat by the FBI and has been described as a cult, is a far-right conspiracy network. On July 6, 2020, Boebert responded to questions about QAnon, "I’m not a follower. QAnon is a lot of things to different people. I was very vague in what I said before. I’m not into conspiracies. I’m into freedom and the Constitution of the United States of America. I’m not a follower”.
Boebert is a gun-rights supporter, and opposes expanding gun control regulations. She is against Colorado’s red flag law, which was passed in 2019 by the Colorado General Assembly.
Boebert and her husband, Jayson, live in Silt, Colorado. Prior to operating their business, Boebert's husband worked in oil and gas fields. They have four sons. Boebert became a born again Christian in 2009.
