State Sen. Don Coram and U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert will meet Thursday morning at Sky Ute Casino Resort in Ignacio for the first of their two debates as they campaign for the Republican primary for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District.
The hourlong unsponsored debate will begin at 11 a.m. and those who want to attend must RSVP via email. Anyone who does not will not be allowed into the event, said J.D. Key, Coram’s campaign manager.
Boebert’s campaign can be reached at jay@laurenforcolorado.com to RSVP, while Coram’s campaign can be contact at info@coramforcolorado.com.
Key said the cut off to register with Coram’s campaign will be 8 a.m. Thursday, but he encouraged anyone who wants to attend the event to contact the campaign by Wednesday evening.
Doors will open for check-in at 10 a.m. and will close at 10:45 a.m. with no late arrivals allowed. The debate will begin promptly at 11 a.m. and end at noon, Key said.
The debate will be moderated by Dave Woodruff, who serves as the Durango chapter president of the Colorado Restaurant Association. The Coram and Boebert campaigns agreed that the candidates would not have questions or topics ahead of time, with Woodruff, general manager of El Moro Tavern, determining both, Key said.
Thursday’s debate in Ignacio marks the first of two meetings for the Republican primary candidates. Coram had asked for four debates, but Boebert agreed to two.
The second debate will be held in Pueblo, though the campaigns have yet to agree to a time and place, Key said.
An attempt to reach the Boebert campaign Wednesday was unsuccessful.
Boebert is the Republican incumbent in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, which covers the Western Slope of Colorado and also includes Pueblo County.
Coram served in the Colorado House of Representatives from 2011 to 2017 and in the state Senate from 2017 to present. His state Senate District 6 extends to Montrose and includes La Plata, Archuleta, Montezuma, Dolores and San Juan counties.
The race for the CD3 Republican primary has been hotly contested with Boebert supporters attempting unsuccessfully to toss Coram from the GOP primary ballot. In recent months, both candidates have exchanged barbs as they look to appeal to Republican voters ahead of Colorado’s primaries on June 28.
ahannon@durangoherald.com
