Despite Congresswoman Lauren Boebert being the most high-profile elected Republican from Colorado, a straw poll taken after the GOP debate in her new district suggests that she might have trouble even winning the Republican nomination, much less the general election.

Ms. Boebert announced last year that she would leave Colorado’s Third Congressional District and run instead at Colorado’s Fourth, a seat currently occupied by Congressman Ken Buck.

Ms. Boebert was facing a steep uphill battle for re-election in the Third District against her 2020 opponent, Adam Frisch. If Ms. Boebert is able to win the nomination in the Fourth District, she will likely go on to represent the district in Congress. 

A new straw poll from Ms. Boebert’s new district, though, suggests that her chances might not be any better in Colorado’s Fourth. Although far from a scientific survey, the results of the straw poll suggest that Ms. Boebert is not the first choice of Republicans who watched her debate performance last week.

Of the nine candidates on stage that night, Ms. Boebert placed fifth in the poll, behind the Logan County commissioner, Jerry Sonnenberg, the state house minority leader, Mike Lynch, a Douglas County filmmaker, Deborah Flora, and the state house minority whip, Richard Holtorf.

Of the 117 votes cast in the straw poll, Ms. Boebert received just 12 despite being the state’s most prominent elected Republican. According to the organizer of the debate, Tammy Klein, the debate attendees probably weren’t representative of the broader primary electorate, telling Colorado Politics that many tickets to the debate went to elected officials.

“In all honesty, I don’t think the candidates had time to rally all their supporters to buy tickets, especially with as many candidates as there were,” Ms. Klein said.

During the debate, candidates like Mr. Lynch attacked Ms. Boebert for moving districts, saying, “Could you give the definition of ‘carpetbagger’?”

“The crops may be different in Colorado’s Fourth District, but the values are not, and I’m a proven fighter for the values that you all believe in,” Ms. Boebert said from the debate stage.

At the debate, Ms. Boebert also drew attention for quipping, after the moderator asked whether the candidates had been arrested, “Do we get to say what for?” Six of the nine candidates raised their hands to indicate that they had.

Ms. Boebert then high-fived another GOP candidate, Trent Leisy. Ms. Boebert was arrested for an altercation with law enforcement, and Mr. Leisy was arrested during a domestic dispute.