Pueblo Democrats speak out against Rep. Lauren Boebert's comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar

Sol Sandoval, a Pueblo-born candidate for congress, said Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert's comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar's Muslim faith have "no place" in congress.

In a video posted to the PatriotTakes Twitter account on Nov. 25, Boebert, a representative for Colorado's 3rd Congressional District which includes Pueblo County, is seen describing a situation in an elevator with Omar to a group of supporters. Boebert said she saw a capitol police officer running toward the elevator.

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"I see fret all over his face and he's reaching," Boebert said. "I'm like, the door's shutting... What's happening? I look to my left and there she is, Ilhan Omar and I said 'Well, she doesn't have a backpack. We should be fine. We only had one floor to go... ' I looked over and I said 'Oh look, the jihad squad decided to show up for work today.'"

With Boebert's seat up for reelection in November 2022, Sandoval is one of many Democratic candidates running against her next year.

"It's really heartbreaking to witness someone who is supposed to be representing us, someone who is supposed to be unifying the district have such hateful and divisive speech," Sandoval said. "There's really no place in congress for that type of behavior. It's really just inspiring violence."

Bri Buentello, a former representative for Colorado House District 47, said Boebert's comments were "blatantly racist" and do not represent Pueblo's values.

"It's yet another example of how her 'representation' begins and ends at hateful publicity stunts and performative cruelty," Buentello said. "She doesn't represent Pueblo, and her apparent white supremacy certainly doesn't share Pueblo's family values."

"It amazes me that she's never been held accountable for her obvious part in the Jan. 6 insurrection; at the very least she should be striped of her committee assignments, if not censured, for that alone. This is just more of the same disgusting behavior that is beneath the dignity of her office."

Boebert tweeted an apology for her comments on Nov. 26.

"I apologize to anyone in the Muslim community I offended with my comments about Rep. Omar," Boebert said. "I have reached out to her office to speak with her directly. There are plenty of policy differences to focus on without this unnecessary distraction."

Following a conversation with Omar directly, Boebert shared a video about the conversation to her social media pages on Nov. 31.

"As a strong Christian woman who values faith deeply, I never want anything I say to offend someone's religion, so I told her that," Boebert said. "Even after I put out a public statement to that effect, she said that she still wanted a public apology because what I had done wasn't good enough."

Boebert said in the video that she responded to Omar's request for a public apology by suggesting Omar should apologize for "anti-American, anti-Semitic, anti-police" rhetoric. Boebert said Omar proceeded to hang up on her. A press release from Omar's office said that Boebert's call was "unproductive."

"Today I graciously accepted a call from Rep. Lauren Boebert in the hope of receiving a direct apology for falsely claiming she met me in an elevator, suggesting I was a terrorist, and for a history of anti-Muslim hate," the release said. Instead of apologizing... Rep. Boebert refused to publicly acknowledge her hurtful and dangerous comments."

Boebert voting against her district's interest, Sandoval says.

Sandoval said Boebert has not only been a poor representative of the district through her comments, but also through her voting record.

"If we look at her voting record, the fact that she's voting against things that everyone could agree are non-partisan because they impact everyone in the district," Sandoval said. "The fact that she is voting against COVID relief funding, against the infrastructure bill, it doesn't make any sense."

On Mar. 10, Boebert voted with other Republicans against the American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion COVID relief package. More recently, she voted against a bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that 13 House Republicans voted in favor of in November.

"It doesn't matter if you are a Republican or a Democrat," Sandoval said. "If you see that there is someone who is clearly not listening to the pleas of the people in the district who need her support, who need opportunities, who realize that our education system need improvement, climate change, there's so much work to do."

Buentello said Boebert has not represented Pueblo "from Day One."

"Boebert's politics are at the height of performative cruelty and bigotry; she's spending our tax dollars to develop her personal brand before moving on as am OAN or Fox News hostess," Buentello said.

In Pueblo, Sandoval said a lack of affordable housing, funding for schools, teacher pay and child care are among many issues residents face. In the San Luis Valley, another part of CO-3, expenses for retired individuals and lack of opportunity have been a cause for concern among residents, Sandoval said.

"I have talked to many Republicans while having listening session throughout the district," Sandoval said. "There's a lot of people who had no idea what they were getting themselves into and they very much regret voting for Lauren Boebert. I am just excited to reach out to individuals and really focus on that they care about."

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Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached by email at JBartolo@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo Democrats speak out against Rep. Boebert's anti-Muslim comments