© 2024 Aspen Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Former Aspen city councilor Adam Frisch to take second run at Lauren Boebert, CD3 seat

adam frisch poses in a blue denim shirt against the backdrop of mountains at sunset and a meadow
Paul H. Trantow
/
Courtesy Adam for Colorado
Aspen resident Adam Frisch came within 550 votes of Lauren Boebert (R-Silt) in the 2022 election. He hopes to clinch the win in 2024.

Former Aspen city councilor and current resident Adam Frisch lost to Republican Lauren Boebert of Silt by just under 550 votes in the 2022 race for Colorado’s third congressional district.

It was the closest congressional race in the country.

Nearly two years out from the 2024 race, Frisch has announced that he’s running again.

Reporter Caroline Llanes got on the phone with Frisch to hear about what his biggest successes were last year, and what he sees as his path to victory in 2024.

Boebert’s spokesman Ben Stout provided the following statement:

"The entire country watched as Congresswoman Lauren Boebert helped fearlessly lead the way in making historic improvements to how Congress operates. In just a matter of weeks since then, Congresswoman Boebert has cosponsored and helped pass 6 bills and authored 4 amendments, each one passing on the House floor with bipartisan support. She looks forward to continuing to serve Colorado's 3rd Congressional District, regardless of whoever runs against her."

Llanes: So this is a decision that you've been thinking about for a while since the last election was finalized. I mean, what ultimately made you decide to run again?

Frisch: You know, a year and a half ago, I would say at the end of 2021, I had written down a couple pages of what I thought was important that wasn't happening in the district. And so there was a reason to run. And then there was a focus on the probability of being able to win and while a lot of people didn’t believe me on the ability to win, a lot of people across the political spectrum understood that the current representative wasn't focused on the job. She was focused on herself. And sadly, I've been spending some time in December, January and early February, driving around the district, listening to a lot of people, and everyone remains pretty shocked that she hasn’t course-corrected one iota. She almost had the most embarrassing loss in a generation, given the odds that, you know, FiveThirtyEight said that she was going to win by 40-45,000 votes and she won by fewer than 550.

So we knew that there was still the path to victory because there was no course correction. And again, there's issues about water and rural health care, mental and physical. There's issues affecting farmers and ranchers, conservation and recreation. And she's spending her time tweeting and yelling and screaming. And you see nothing that the average person, let alone voter, is really focused on. And so I still think that there is a huge opportunity for a moderate, bipartisan consensus-building person who's going to take the job seriously to get back into the arena. As to coming in now versus the more traditional time of, say, sometime this summer: I've spent a lot of time with some organizations, a lot of them right leaning, and I just got the same sense and was told of a lot of frustration out there that there was a lack of a course-correct. So given the momentum that we had leading into last election, we thought it made sense for the best probability to see a change in D.C. in November of ‘24 by launching in mid-February of 2023.

Llanes: Let's talk about that elephant in the room. It was so close last time by, just as you said, 546 votes. What is different this time around? What are you planning to do differently that might tip the scales in your favor?

Frisch: Well, you know, again, as you noted, we came within the fraction. We're the closest race in the entire country. And we were able to do that in five months with very little name recognition and a little bit less money. I think our biggest hurdle of a lack of time and name recognition have been taken care of. So I think we're able to get back to focusing on the importance of just getting on the road and getting in front of a lot of people. So I don't think it's a matter of we have to come up with a whole new plan. We just have a longer runway of which to execute it, and that is continuing to meet more and more people. And we've had a pretty good, I would say, conversion rate once they have a chance to get out there and people see that I'm authentic, I’m sincere, and I'm taking the job seriously and they believe me that I'm actually going to focus on the district and not myself or my own Twitter account.

Llanes: So was there anything that you learned from the last election cycle? What do you feel like you did well? What do you hope to improve on?

Frisch: Well, you know, my son and I had this 24,000 mile father-son road trip. There was no stone or a county or almost precinct that was left unturned. We hit all three state lines. We went to every county many, many times. We showed up in northwest Colorado, which is about as Republican as it gets, and we were even received well there. Again, they just realized I was a good listener, and I was focusing on the importance of what they're concerned about and, you know, showing up as important and being a good listener is the second step. And we just continue to do that over and over and over again. And we showed up in places a few times that nobody, Republican or Democrat, has probably ever gone to in a congressional run. And I think that sincerity and hard work really paid off. And so I'm not sure we'll hit 50,000 miles at this time because you know, it'll get very, very busy soon enough. But we'll still continue to drive around. We'll have more barbecue tours, more beer tours, more bakery tours, more reasons for me to put on more and more weight. One of the biggest frustrations I have about launching so soon is I wasn't able to shed the campaign weight I wanted to, but such is life! And it's just a joy. I mean, we have the most beautiful district of the 435 of the country for sure, bar none. And there's a lot more similarities and there are differences in people's lives. It's making sure that they have a healthy family, making sure that they have a stable job, making sure that they have a safe community, making sure that their kids are getting a good and safe education. And those are the issues that are focused on and sort of try to bring in a lot of socially divisive issues and culture that don't have much to do with the vast majority of people that are not on Twitter, you know, 7 hours a day.

Llanes: So in the video announcement you put out and so. Social media. You emphasized Colorado Energy, Colorado Water and Colorado jobs. Is it fair to say that those are some of your biggest policy focuses headed into this race?

Frisch: Yeah, no, I think those issues remain. They're not being tackled by the representative and they resonate that are important. And while there's a lot of hard things about running for Congress, especially in the district that's so big, the easiest thing by far and away, is what I believe is a father and a husband to the small business owner before I even thought about running was exactly what I shared in the primary. It’s exactly what I shared in the general election in Colorado. Focus on jobs. Colorado domestic energy is really important and obviously at the top of that whole pyramid of issues is making sure that the water that is in southern and western Colorado remains here. It's obviously wonderful that we're having a really great year on the slopes, but it's important for us to make sure that no one ever complains that when it rains and snows in western Colorado, let alone the western part of the United States because of them today, we still have some very serious issues regarding the watersheds.

Llanes: So you're in a unique situation. Having come so close to winning last time, you're sort of battle-tested. Do you feel like maybe that gives you an edge over any other Democrats considering running?

Frisch: Yeah, no, I would say that, you know, on one level, I'll say that, you know, whoever wants to run for any office at any level should obviously run. I fully support the democratic process. I feel very strongly that we are going to be the candidate in the general election to run against Lauren Boebert. With respect, I think we have a proven track record of being able to build a coalition of Democrats, Republicans, and independents. We've shown that we take the job seriously. We've shown that we can execute very well, and that we can generate the resources that's needed and connect with a lot of people. And, you know, I think we did very, very well in spite of being from a mountain town, not because we were from a mountain town and, you know, a lot of time on the road convincing people and working with people that I'm a sincere and authentic person. And that's what resonates with a lot of people. So whether we end up having this lane to ourselves or whether there's 47 other people running, I feel humbly confident that we’ll do a good job and connect with those people that we did before.

Llanes: Yeah, I'm really glad that you mentioned Democrats or Republicans, independents because that was something that came up quite a bit last time. This “tripartisan” coalition, as you called it, Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters. Is that kind of the strategy that you're going to keep pushing this time around?

Frisch: Yeah, no, I mean, I think, you know, by definition, the district remains, you know, 24-25% Democrat, 30-32% Republican, and 43 something percent unaffiliated, which I was for 20 years. And so the math says that you that you have to be able to build a “tripartisan” coalition. And we have a proven track record that we can do that. And again, that's very easy because the views that I share on the campaign trail are what I truly believe when I'm not on the campaign trail. And people see authenticity through that. And I think that resonates with a lot of people, even those people that might not agree with every single thing I have to say. And so, you know, I think as well as the races we ran before and well of a campaign staff we have before, we're just going to be that much better.

Llanes: That was Adam Frisch. He's a former Aspen City councilor and current Aspen resident and a candidate for Colorado's 3rd Congressional District. Adam, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with Aspen Public Radio.

Frisch: No no, thanks for reaching out.

Caroline Llanes is a general assignment reporter at Aspen Public Radio, covering everything from local governments to public lands. Her work has been featured on NPR. Previously, she was an associate producer for WBUR’s Morning Edition in Boston.