Dem
47
GOP
53
Keeping the MAHA Moms on board isn't Donald Trump's only political problem. He also has to deal with recalcitrant Republican House members. So, he went for his favorite weapon and slapped a 50% tariff on imports into their districts. Oh, wait, the Supreme Court said he can't do that. Consequently, he reached for weapon #2: Endorse a primary opponent. That feels so good, even when it is political malpractice.
Case in point: Rep. Jeff Hurd (R-CO). Hurd is from an R+5 district, CO-03, encompassing Grand Junction and Pueblo, CO. In 2024, he announced a run against Lauren Boebert. When she chickened out and jumped over to CO-04, he campaigned on being as "exciting as a bread sandwich," won the primary and won the general election. Donald Trump endorsed him again this time, not because he is MAGA—he isn't—but because he was likely to win and this would increase Trump's batting average.
Then Hurd voted with the Democrats to cancel the tariffs on Canada. He did this not out of spite, but because his district exports products to Canada, so he was just voting his district. Trump went apesh** and de-endorsed Hurd and endorsed a crazy right-winger, Hope Scheppelman, in the primary instead. She is a former nurse practitioner who is so extreme that the Colorado state Republican Party voted to remove her as vice chair of the party due to some of her stated positions. She has opposed the display of BLM and Pride flags in schools, mocked the Southern Ute Tribe in the district, and more.
This switch by Trump suddenly puts a slightly swingy district, which would probably be in play in a blue wave, very much in danger. Dick Wadhams, a Colorado Republican strategist and former Colorado GOP state chairman, described Scheppelman as "very divisive," saying: "The fact is if she is the Republican nominee in the Third District, Democrats will win that district." Allen Fuller, a Colorado Republican consultant, said Scheppelman was "a limited candidate with a limited base, limited runway, and limited options."
So by switching endorsements, Trump has changed a probable victory for a Republican into a very plausible victory for a Democrat. Two Democrats have filed so far. Alex Kelloff's family has been in Colorado for four generations. He cofounded Armada Skis and has worked for various companies in the state his whole career. The last 6 years he has been with SDC Capital Partners, a global digital infrastructure investment company.
Kyle Doster is a barista. Clearly, neither one expected to win against Hurd and filed on a lark. However, now that a complete wingnut might upset Hurd, the whole picture suddenly changes. The filing deadline for the June primary is March 18, so some Democratic state representative, state senator, or mayor in the district might just decide to chance it since the odds of flipping the seat just shot up due to Trump's action. If a Democrat wins, we think he or she should send Trump a thank you card reading: "Without your help, I could never have done this. Thank you so much." Actually, there are probably going to be quite a few Democrats who will need to send a card like that after Election Day. (V)