Former Colorado GOP vice chair challenges Jeff Hurd in 2026 race for Congress
Hope Scheppelman, former vice chair of the Colorado Republican Party, is challenging U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd in the 2026 race to represent Colorado's 3rd Congressional District.
Scheppelman, of Bayfield, said Hurd 'tricked and lied to CD3 voters last year' and has since 'exposed himself as just another liberal elitist who is dead set against President (Donald) Trump and the millions of MAGA citizens like me' in a press release announcing her candidacy.
She is a U.S. Navy veteran and former health care professional and business owner.
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Hurd, a Grand Junction Republican who started his first term in Congress in January, won voters in the district by promising 'a different style' from his predecessor, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Windsor Republican and MAGA provocateur who moved districts after she was reelected by under 600 votes in 2022 and now represents the 4th Congressional District. Hurd has been one of the more moderate Republicans in Congress since he took office.
'When the people of CD3 learn what Jeff Hurd has really been up to in D.C., I know they will choose a real conservative who will fight for them and our real-world local interests, not the sold-out liberal elitists in BOTH parties who are thrilled with Hurd's betrayal of our common sense values,' Scheppelman said.
The press release announcing Scheppelman's run said Hurd earned a primary from the MAGA wing of Colorado's GOP. She was vice chair of the Colorado Republican Party under former chair Dave Williams, who broke party norms by endorsing candidates in primary elections across the state, favoring many MAGA Republicans who lost their races. A group of Republicans attempted to oust Williams and other party leaders, but that effort was halted by the courts. Party members voted Scheppelman out as vice chair after one term in the position.
If elected to Congress, Scheppelman's campaign website says she would prioritize ending the fentanyl crisis and securing the border; defending agriculture, water rights and landowners; improving rural health care, Medicare and Medicaid; restoring American energy independence; empowering parents and reforming education; defending constitutional rights and 'Western values'; honoring and supporting veterans; and strengthening rural economies and small business growth.
The 3rd District encompasses the Western Slope and the southwest corner of the state, sweeping east to include Pueblo, Otero and Las Animas counties.
Hurd has already raised over $700,000 for his reelection campaign. Two Democrats, Alex Kelloff and Kyle Doster, have also filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission declaring their run for the seat in the Democratic primary.
Party primary elections in Colorado will take place in June 2026.
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