Donald Trump congratulates QAnon-praising Republican primary winner who beat candidate he endorsed - and defied shutdown order at her 'open-carry cafe' (9 Pics)
Donald Trump congratulated a far-right candidate who has praised the QAnon conspiracy theory after she bested a five-term Republican representative in Colorado's primary election on Tuesday.
'Congratulations on a really great win!' the president directed at the victor, Lauren Bobert, in a tweet late Tuesday night.
'Thank you, Mr. President!' Boebert responded Wednesday morning. 'Freedom is a great motivator!'
Boebert, 33, has risen to notoriety as she defied pandemic restrictions by keeping her restaurant, Shooter Grill, open, which she only gave up after the Garfield County sheriff obtained a cease-and-desist order.
The restaurant is located in Rifle, Colorado, which has a population of less than 10,000, and the hook is that it is a pro-gun establishment – as Boebert encourages her employees to open-carry their firearms.
She is also unabashedly pro-Trump.
'When given the choice, Americans will choose freedom & liberty every single time,' Boebert tweeted the morning following her win.
'The media wants us to believe that we are the minority,' she lamented. 'The American spirit is alive and well. The world is watching.'
Donald Trump congratulated Lauren Boebert for winning the Republican primary in Colorado's 3rd district on Tuesday night, even though she bested the five-term incumbent he endorsed
Boebert, 33, supports the QAnon conspiracy theory that there is a 'deep state' out to get Trump and his supporters
She rose to notoriety after defying lockdown orders to keep her pro-Second Amendment restaurant, Shooter Grill, open during the pandemic
Staff are encouraged to open-carry their firearms at Shooters Grill
The president also retweeted an endorsement Wednesday morning of Boebert from the Christian and conservative-leaning news website NOQ Report.
'A primary win by @laurenboebert, an unabashed conservative supporter of
@realDonaldTrump, bodes well for patriots looking for stronger leadership in Washington DC,' NOQ Report Editor-in-Chief JD Rucker tweeted and the president reposted. 'We were proud to endorse her before and we're on #TeamBoebert for the general.'
Boebert's upset primary victory Tuesday came after Trump endorsed Tipton in December.
'Congressman @ScottRTipton is a great supporter of the #MAGA Agenda!' the president tweeted of the mostly low-key congressman. 'He fights for your #2A rights and the Border Wall. Scott is working hard for Colorado and has my Complete and Total Endorsement!'
Tipton conceded to Boebert in an email: 'District Republicans have decided who they want to run against the Democrats this November.'
'I want to congratulate Lauren Boebert and wish her and her supporters well,' he wrote.
Boebert is also a proponent of the QAnon conspiracy theory, which alleges there is a 'deep state' agenda against Trump and his supporters.
'Everything that I've heard of Q, I hope that this is real because it only means that America is getting stronger and better, and people are returning to conservative values,' the Republican candidate told Steel Truth, a QAnon-aligned web show.
Colorado's 3rd congressional district encompasses a massive area of 30 counties, spanning from the western border to nearly the middle of the state. But with a total population of less than 800,000 in that area, it only makes up about 13 per cent of the electorate in the state.
Tipton is the third Trump-endorsed Republican candidate to lose their primary in the last three weeks – showing a trend toward more right-leaning GOPers
Trump issued an endorsement of Tipton in December to keep his congressional seat
Boebert also made headlines after confronting former Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke during a campaign stint through Colorado.
During a town-hall meeting in Aurora, O'Roule pledged to seize assault rifles, to which Boebert responded: 'Hell no you're not.'
Gun rights have been at the center of the state's political clashes for years between the more rural and urban areas as new restrictions were imposed following mass shootings.
'I am a mother to 4 boys. My husband and I are raising them to be strong men! I refuse to send my children into a socialist nation. Their freedom IS my motivator! Threaten the liberty of Americans, and I'll be there to hold you accountable! #USHouse #CO03 #HellNObeto,' Boebert has pinned at the top of her Twitter page.
While many areas in Colorado are red, in particular the rural areas in the 3rd district, the state went blue in the 2016 election – with about 5 per cent more voting for Clinton than Trump.
Boebert's primary win, however, shows the trend toward more right-leaning, conservative Republicans, rather than centrists like Tipton.
Tipton is the third Trump-endorsed Republican to lose in the last three weeks.
Trump also retweeted an endorsement of Boebert from Christian and conservative news website NOQ Report's Editor-in-Chief JD Rucker on Wednesday
Boebart will face off with Democratic challenger Diane Mitsch Bush, who lost to Tipton in the 2018 election
Boebert argued during her primary campaign that Tipton too often voted with Democrats.
'America is and always will be the greatest country in the world. Thank you, Colorado!' Boebert tweeted Wednesday morning.
'This is the honor of a lifetime,' she continued. 'Now, the hard work begins to take back the House in November!'
While Boebert will not flip her seat if she wins, since it was already red, Republicans are looking to win back their majority in the House of Representatives after losing it to Democrats in the 2018 midterms.
Boebert will face off against Democrat primary victor Diane Mitsch Bush, a former Colorado State House member.
Mitsch Bush lost to Tipton in the 2018 election, earning 43.6 per cent of the vote compared to the incumbent's 51.5 per cent.
