As soon as Lauren Boebert announced she was leaving her hometown congressional district in favor of redder pastures on the Eastern Plains, politicos began wondering whether the relatively unknown Jeff Hurd would be able to secure the Republican nomination without a better-known challenger jumping in the race. With the current state of the Colorado GOP favoring the most MAGA candidates, finding someone Trump-y enough for the base, but with enough gravitas and name ID to raise real money is a challenging proposition.

With Republicans relegated to super-minority status in the Colorado House (and nearly so in the Senate), they will have little leverage during the special session of the state Legislature set to begin tomorrow. But in radio interviews this week, caucus leadership nevertheless presented a united front via a pair of bills. Minority Leader Mike Lynch (R-Wellington), Assistant Minority Leader Rose Pugliese (R-Colorado Springs), and Senator Barb Kirkmeyer (R-Weld County), who sits on the powerful Joint Budget Committee, are all promoting the same proposal while saying they believe a compromise can be reached with Democrats. However, other GOP legislators and the state party share neither their optimism nor their policy goals.