Carbondale businessman challenging Lauren Boebert in Colorado GOP primary

Russ Andrews has a business background and lives in the Aspen area, but he says that he’s very different from Adam Frisch, the Democrat who narrowly lost to U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert in November 2022 and is running again for his party’s nomination.

For starters, Andrews is a Republican. He identifies as a “hardcore conservative” and says taxes are appalling.

Here’s what Andrews had to say in a recent interview with the Chieftain about why he’s running for Congress.

Why Andrews is joining the GOP primary race

Andrews has a background as a marine engineer and a financial advisor. He has hosted a political and talk show in the Roaring Fork Valley for 14 years, which is now suspended as he’s running for office.

He has voted for Boebert three times so far — including in the 2022 primary — but thinks that there’s “bad math” for Boebert and that many unaffiliated voters don’t like her.

When Boebert was elected to office in 2020, Andrews said her approach to being a congressional representative was less about delivering results for constituents and more about changing “the moral trajectory of this country.”

He thinks that he can be a good replacement for Boebert because he hasn't "pissed anyone off yet.”

Here are Andrews' positions on policy

Andrews firmly identifies as a conservative.

He wants to curtail illegal immigration and impose harsher penalties on drug dealers. To address the import of fentanyl and synthetic opioids, Andrews thinks tariffs should be imposed on China and Mexico until fewer people are dying from drug overdoses.

Andrews also wants to finish constructing the wall along the United States border with Mexico, started by former President Donald Trump.

However, he wants to increase legal immigration to the United States. Many of the people coming into the US, especially illegally, are “unskilled laborers,” but he wants to allow more skilled immigration of “people who can contribute.”

Andrews isn’t a fan of taxes. One of his policy ideas is to temporarily suspend collecting taxes in certain areas to spur economic development through enterprise zones, which he credits to conversations with Paonia’s mayor.

He thinks the Republican Party needs to move past abortion, but he’s one of a few GOPers who isn’t opposed to the practice.

He said he agreed with Bill Clinton’s adage that abortions should be “safe, legal and rare.” Andrews noted that the majority of Americans support that sentiment and said that Republicans are getting “swamped” in fundraising and at the ballot box because of abortion.

Who else is challenging Boebert?

According to the latest filings to the Federal Elections Commission, Boebert will have at least two challengers in the GOP primary next June: Andrews and Grand Junction attorney Jeff Hurd.

Frisch may already have raised millions of dollars, but four other Democrats have also filed to run in the primary: Debbie Burnett, David Kapas, Adam Withrow and Grand Junction Mayor Anna Stout.

As of June 30, the latest data available, Andrews has raised over $12,000 and has loaned his own campaign $10,255, while Frisch reported bringing in nearly $4.4 million and Boebert had nearly $1.6 million.

Andrews said that it can be difficult to fundraise during a primary, but he has been in discussion with some larger donors and said he has raised more money in the third quarter of this year.

Last year’s election did not have any third-party candidates on the ballot, but two libertarians have filed to run.

Anna Lynn Winfrey covers politics for the Pueblo Chieftain. She can be reached at awinfrey@gannett.com. Please support local news at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Meet the Carbondale businessman challenging Boebert in the GOP primary