Rep. Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) was defeated in a primary election on Tuesday by Lauren Boebert, a conservative restaurateur and gun-rights activist.
Boebert — the owner of a restaurant in Rifle, Colo. that advertises the fact that its wait staff open-carry firearms — hit Tipton for his record on immigration and co-sponsoring coronavirus legislation that would give aid to local governments.
She led Tipton, 54 percent to 46 percent, when The Associated Press called the race.
First elected in 2010, Tipton represents a rural district on Colorado’s Westen Slope and was not expected to have a tough primary. He snagged an endorsement from President Donald Trump and spent nearly $530,000 by mid-June, to Boebert’s $120,000.
Boebert campaigned as a fervent advocate for the 2nd Amendment. Her restaurant is called Shooters Grill, and her campaign website notes she gained “recognition in September 2019 by attending presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke’s rally to tell him directly: ‘Hell, no, you won’t take our guns.’”
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