Poll puts Boebert in third
Sonnenberg ’trumps’ Boebert in Holyoke straw poll over the weekend
Getting a Trump endorsement doesn’t necessarily translate into Republican support, even in blood-red eastern Colorado.
Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, who left the 3rd Congressional District in western Colorado, which she now represents, to seek election in the Republican stronghold of the 4th CD of eastern Colorado, has discovered that the former president’s support means little to the conservatives of the High Plains.
Boebert earned Trump’s endorsement on Saturday, March 2, only to come in third in a straw poll of Republicans in Holyoke, Colo., on Sunday, March 3.
During a debate in Holyoke, Republicans again were polled on the field of candidates. According to information from an independent source, Boebert earned 30 of the 184 votes cast while former state senator and current Logan County Commissioner Jerry Sonnenberg earned 55 votes. Ted Harvey, a longtime Colorado legislator, garnered 38 votes, State Rep. Richard Holtorf got 19 followed by Trent Leisy with 16, Deborah Flora with 14 and the rest in single digits.
Sonnenberg, who says he is a Trump supporter, said the poll makes it clear that 4th District voters will make their own decision about who should be their representative in Congress.
“I voted for Donald Trump in 2016, 2020, and will vote for him again in 2024. I hope he wins,” Sonnenberg said. “But, respectfully, the only endorsement I care about in this race will come from the voters of this district, who I’ve served honorably for two decades. They’re going to make up their own minds and I am confident I’ll earn their endorsement over someone who just moved to our district so she could stay in Washington, D.C.”
While Sonnenberg downplayed the importance of Trump’s endorsement, he has previously pointed out that he has gained the endorsement of some highpowered Republicans in the 4th District. Three former Republican Senators — Cory Gardner, Wayne Allard, and Hank Brown, who all have all served as the 4th
CD representatives before being elected to the U.S. Senate — recently came out to back Sonnenberg. He also is also supported by dozens of local elected officials, law enforcement, faith leaders, farmers, ranchers, and small business leaders in the district.
A spokesperson for Sonnenberg’s campaign told the Journal-advocate the congresswoman chose to skip the Burlington appearance, sending a staffer in her place, while traveling instead to be with Trump at his rallies in North Carolina and Virginia.
The Journal-advocate reached out to Boebert’s campaign Tuesday but hadn’t yet heard back by deadline.