State ed board member Stephen Varela announces run for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District
(Colorado Newsline) Republican State Board of Education member Stephen Varela announced a bid for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District Thursday, becoming the second Republican to jump into the race following Rep. Lauren Boebert’s decision to run in a different congressional district.
“As a battle-tested conservative and former Democrat, I’m ready to shake up Washington on day one and effectively advocate for rural Colorado’s jobs and conservative values, heritage and way of life. I know how to go toe-to-toe with the far-left political leadership,” Varela said in a statement.
Varela joins former state Republican Rep. Ron Hanks as a newcomer in the race following Boebert’s decision to run in the 4th District rather than seek reelection to her current seat.
U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Silt speaks Sept. 10, 2022, during the Club 20 Western Colorado Candidate Debates at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction. William Woody for Colorado Newsline
The district has been represented by a Republican since 2010 and has about a 9 point Republican advantage, according to election result analysis after the recent redistricting. The Cook Political Report rates the race as a “lean Republican” seat.
Varela was appointed to the Colorado State Board of Education in February 2023. In 2022, he ran for a state Senate seat but lost to Democratic incumbent Nick Hinrichsen.
The veteran and former charter school board member has changed his voter registration 17 times since 2011 and was a Democrat as recently as 2021, according to reporting from The Colorado Sun’s subscription newsletter.
The 3rd District Republican primary became open when Boebert announced in December that she would run for the 4th District instead to try and replace outgoing Rep. Ken Buck. She was already facing a tough primary challenger in political newcomer Jeff Hurd, who has racked up endorsements from noteworthy Colorado Republicans.
If Boebert made it to the general election, she could have faced Democrat Adam Frisch, who she beat by just 546 votes in 2022.
Hanks jumped into the 3rd District Republican primary a few days after Boebert announced her switch. Hanks ran for U.S. Senate last year but lost in the Republican primary to Joe O’Dea. The conservative now serves as the state GOP’s Ballot and Election Security Committee chairman, and is a promoter of the lie that President Joe Biden stole the 2020 presidential election through rampant voter fraud.
Congressional primaries in Colorado are on June 25.
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