CO-3 is Lean R. Hurd's lower-profile style compared to Boebert reduces the intensity of opposition. Trump's 20-point margin in 2024 provides a strong baseline. Democrats might field a candidate but CO-3 is not a top pickup target in any but the most extreme wave environments. Full House overview →
The District
CO-3 is geographically the largest congressional district in Colorado, covering the entire western half of the state from the Utah border to the New Mexico line. It encompasses the ski resort areas around Aspen, Telluride, and Steamboat Springs; the agricultural San Luis Valley; the oil and gas producing Piceance Basin; and the Grand Junction area — Colorado's most conservative city. The district is economically defined by three dominant sectors: energy development, agriculture, and outdoor recreation/tourism.
Lauren Boebert held the seat from 2021 to 2025, becoming one of the most nationally recognized (and polarizing) House Republicans. She narrowly won in 2020 by just 0.3% over incumbent Scott Tipton in the primary and then barely won the general election. She chose to move to the adjacent CO-4 for 2024, where Trump margins were stronger. Jeff Hurd, a Grand Junction attorney, won the open CO-3 seat in 2024 with a more conventional Republican profile.
Key Issues
Federal Lands & Energy
The majority of CO-3's land area is federal — national forests, BLM land, national monuments. Energy development rights on federal land (oil, natural gas, coal), grazing rights, and mining permits are existential economic questions for the district's rural communities. Federal land management decisions affect virtually every rancher and energy company in the region.
Colorado River Water
The Colorado River Compact, which divides the river's water among seven states and Mexico, is under existential pressure from drought and overuse. CO-3 sits upstream of most other states and has complex water rights issues. Colorado's agricultural economy, municipalities, and ski resorts all depend on water allocations that are increasingly contested.
Recreation Economy
Ski resorts, whitewater rivers, mountain biking, and outdoor recreation drive billions of dollars in economic activity in CO-3. This creates unusual political dynamics: the outdoor recreation economy attracts more liberal workers and visitors to communities that vote Republican. Ski town economics have pushed places like Aspen and Telluride into D+40 territory even as the rural district stays solidly Republican.
