Republican Congressman Scott Tipton of Colorado lost his GOP primary on Tuesday night, the third time in less than a month that a candidate backed by President Donald Trump had been defeated in a race for Congress.
Tipton, a five-term Republican Congressman whose district covers basically the western half of Colorado, was defeated by a more conservative challenger Lauren Boebert.
Boebert, a gun rights enthusiast and QAnon conspiracy theory supporter, had gained notoriety for violating Coronavirus restrictions by opening her restaurant.
President Trump had tweeted out his support for Tipton two times during the past six months - but that wasn't enough to save him from Boebert's challenge from the right.
Congratulations on a really great win! https://t.co/rMpFiV6LvY
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2020
Lauren Boebert might have unseated Rep. Tipton in Colorado's 3rd district... her notable endorsement on her campaign website was "Boots on the Ground Bikers for Trump" pic.twitter.com/5B4wagEF1u
— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) July 1, 2020
Lauren Boebert is a QAnon conspiracy believer & owner of a restaurant that opened in violation of state Covid guidelines and allows staff to “proudly open carry as they serve their customers,” per her website. https://t.co/wcM0KNum14
— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) July 1, 2020
Up until June of this year, President Trump had sported an unblemished record from his endorsements in special elections and GOP primaries, something which the GOP touted in a series of tweets.
But that changed suddenly in early June, when Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA) lost a GOP convention vote to get on the November ballot, despite having the backing of both President Trump and the head of Liberty University, Jerry Falwell Jr.
Last week, a candidate backed by the President and his chief of staff - ex-Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) - was defeated in a primary for COngress in North Carolina.
Tipton's loss made it three defeats for the President, as now five sitting members of Congress have been defeated in their bids for re-election. Three are Republicans and two are Democrats.