Denver, CO
Lauren Boebert faces new GOP contenders in Fort Lupton debate
FORT LUPTON — U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert got into the mix with eight fellow Republican contenders in a 4th Congressional District debate Thursday night in this Weld County city, less than a month after she announced she was moving to the eastern side of Colorado — and a new district — to run for Congress again.
Although there were a few barbs lobbed her way from competitors for her sudden move from the 3rd Congressional District to the 4th, the debate was largely civil with few personal insults thrown.
Three Republican candidates from the 8th Congressional District, Colorado’s newest district north of Denver, also debated Thursday night at the Fort Lupton Recreation Center. They reserved most of their criticism for Democrat Yadira Caraveo, the Thornton pediatrician who’s a little more than halfway through her first term in Congress.
Joe Andujo, an Air Force veteran who immigrated from Mexico when he was young, said he would be happy to compare Latino credentials with Caraveo, who is Colorado’s first Latina in Congress.
“I can even debate her in Spanish if she so desires,” he said.
He is running against Weld County Commissioner Scott James and state Rep. Gabe Evans in the 8th District.
But the bigger stage Thursday was made up of nine of the GOP candidates running for Colorado’s 4th District, the state’s most solid Republican stronghold in Congress. State Rep. Mike Lynch, until this week the minority leader in the House, made a direct dig at Boebert for her district switch.
“Can you give the definition of ‘carpetbagger’ to me?” he asked to several muted gasps in the audience of more than 100 party faithful.
Boebert responded that her sons “needed a fresh start” from the family turmoil she has gone through with her recent divorce and the arrest of her ex-husband in Silt this month.
“My boys need some freedom from what has been going on,” Boebert said. “The crops may be different in Colorado’s 4th District (than the 3rd), but the values aren’t.”
The second-term congresswoman’s new home is in Windsor.
In a straw poll taken after the debate, which was put on by the Republican Women of Weld, Lynch came in second with 20 votes while Boebert landed fifth with 12. Former state lawmaker and Logan County Commissioner Jerry Sonnenberg was the top vote-getter, with 22.
Not surprisingly, immigration took center stage Thursday, with all of the candidates in both debates saying the large inflows of migrants over the southern border was one of the biggest — if not the chief — issue facing the country.
“It is time to put Americans first,” said Peter Yu, who has run unsuccessfully for the 2nd Congressional District and the U.S. Senate.
Candidate and state Rep. Richard Holtorf, who owns a ranch near Akron, was more blunt.
“Narco-terrorists are destroying our country,” he said.
Several of the candidates, when asked, questioned the legitimacy of President Biden’s 2020 electoral victory, and nearly all of them were in favor of term limits. There was a split on the stage on support for U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who ran into trouble with some Republicans this month for working with Democrats to keep the government funded.
Six of the nine candidates in the 4th District raised their hands — to laughs and applause from the audience — when asked if anyone had been arrested.
“We’re all sinners,” said Sonnenberg, who said he once spent a night in jail for speeding.
Lynch’s DUI arrest in 2022 came to light last week and led to his demotion from his post as House minority leader on Wednesday, as some of his Republican colleagues said they had lost confidence in his leadership.
“We need people who understand people, who are human and make mistakes,” Lynch said of his personal foibles.
Boebert still represents the Western Slope-centered 3rd Congressional District but faced daunting prospects for reelection there, as personal scandals ensnared her and energized Democratic opposition mounted. She made huge headlines in the waning days of 2023, when she suddenly announced she would be running for the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep Ken Buck at the end of this year.
Her name once again went wide just hours before Thursday’s debate, after Garfield County prosecutors announced they filed formal criminal charges against her ex-husband, Jayson Boebert, after two separate alleged confrontations with family members this month.
Other candidates on the stage during the 4th District debate included Ted Harvey, who served in both chambers of Colorado’s legislature; Deborah Flora; Trent Leisy; and Chris Phelen.
In the 8th Congressional District debate, James said he could work across the aisle and had won the last seven elections he had been in.
“They do not have a voice in Washington, D.C. — they have been forgotten,” he said of the residents of eastern Colorado. “I’ll be that voice of calmness.”
Gabe Evans, a former Arvada police officer who is serving his first term in the state House representing Adams and Weld counties, lambasted Democrats and their track record in Congress.
“Watching what the left is doing to my state is why I’m in politics right now,” he said.
Evans overwhelmingly won the straw poll Thursday night, with 69 votes. James received 33, and Andujo garnered 13.
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Ken Roczen led Hunter Lawrence into Round 16 at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver with a four-point advantage and a newly acquired red plate. With Lawrence’s win and the reduction of three points, the two riders head to Salt Lake City in a winner-take-all scenario.
Lawrence won his heat, while Roczen finished third in Heat 2.
Lawrence took the feature lead early, and once he sniffed clean air, he steadily increased his gap on second.
“It’s good,” Lawrence told Peacock’s Will Christien. “[At the] five-second board, I’m just so excited. Let’s go out, have fun, and do what I love to do. It couldn’t have been much better than that.”
Lawrence cut the championship deficit to a single point heading into the season finale. The two riders each have five victories.
If Lawrence and Roczen manage to tie in points, which will happen if they finish in the middle of the pack with Lawrence on spot ahead of Roczen, the tiebreaker would come down to second-place results. Lawrence finished second five times early in the season; Roczen has two runner-up results.
Meanwhile, Roczen had a modest start and had to come through the pack. Once he settled into second, he lost the tow of the leader, and ultimately lost more than 12 seconds to Lawrence.
Returning from an injury suffered in Cleveland, Eli Tomac thrilled the hometown crowd with the final podium position. He stalled his bike in sand in the opening laps but executed Beast Mode in the middle stage of the feature.
Fourth-place Malcolm Stewart and Chase Sexton rounded out the top five.
In-Race Notes
Jorge Prado earned the holeshot, but Lawrence took the lead quickly.
Roczen slotted into fourth on the opening lap. There is a five-point gap between first and third in Supercross scoring.
But Roczen secured second from Prado on Lap 3, and trimmed three points from the gap.
Roczen lost 4.5 seconds to Lawrence as he made his way into second.
The third title contender, Cooper Webb, took third from Prado on Lap 5.
Lawrence had the flow in the opening laps. He extended his lead to 6.2 seconds on Lap 7.
Tomac stalled in the sand and fell outside the top five, but found his rhythm and climbed to fourth on Lap 8. Webb lost a position to Prado earlier in that lap.
Lawrence was on a rail, forcing Roczen to ride on the edge of his comfort zone.
A little further back in the field, Justin Barcia was sixth on Lap 10 in his second race back.
Tomac secured third from Prado on Lap 12.
Roczen fell to eight seconds behind on Lap 13. Eight minutes remained on the clock.
The top three settled into a rhythm with seven minutes on the clock. The gap between them was slowly widening.
Cooper and Dylan Ferrandis tangled while challenging for sixth.
One lap later, Webb tangled with Jorge Prado, and both riders lost momentum. Webb hit the dirt and dropped outside the top 10. That ended his dim hope of securing a fourth Supercross championship.
Malcolm Stewart moved into fifth.
One lap later, Stewart grabbed fourth from Sexton.
In all the chaos, Justin Barcia (eighth) climbed into the top 10 in his second race after returning from a scary crash in the season opener at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.
Ryan Nitzen | May 2, 2026
Denver, Colorado serves as round 16 of the Monster Energy SuperMotocross World Championship at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium. Today is the penultimate round of the Supercross Championship and things are coming down to the wire as Ken Roczen leads the championship by four points over Hunter Lawrence. In 250SX, the Western Divisional Championship is back on track with Haiden Deegan looking to close out his season on top. Let’s get into the action from qualifying!
450 QUALIFYING
Ken Roczen is turning up the heat late as he leads the 450SX points for the first time ever in the second-half of the season. The Progressive Suzuki rider set the fastest lap in the 450’s and posted the fastest time of anyone on track with a 50.103. He was only two-tenths quicker than Hunter Lawrence who took second overall with a 50.314. Chase Sexton looked fast all morning and clocked the time to beat in Q1 before taking third overall.
450SX OVERALL QUALIFYING RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Ken Roczen | (Suz) | 50.103 |
| 2. | Hunter Lawrence | (Hon) | 50.314 |
| 3. | Chase Sexton | (Kaw) | 50.392 |
| 4. | Justin Hill | (KTM) | 50.532 |
| 5. | Dylan Ferrandis | (Duc) | 50.771 |
| 6. | Eli Tomac | (KTM) | 51.010 |
| 7. | Jorge Prado | (KTM) | 51.039 |
| 8. | Justin Cooper | (Yam) | 51.054 |
| 9. | Garrett Marchbanks | (Kaw) | 51.350 |
| 10. | Christian Craig | (Hon) | 51.524 |
250 QUALIFYING
With 250SX West back on track today, it’s no surprise to see Haiden Deegan as the fastest qualifier. He’s already clinched the 250 title so there’s no real pressure other than closing out his 250 career with a win. Deegan heads to the line first going into the night show and was the only 250 rider in the 50-second range. Levi Kitchen was a close second and looks up to speed after a mid-season back injury. Ryder DiFrancesco rounded out the top three after setting the time to beat in the first qualifying session.
250SX OVERALL QUALIFYING RESULTS (Top 10)
| 1. | Haiden Deegan | (Yam) | 50.981 |
| 2. | Levi Kitchen | (Kaw) | 51.348 |
| 3. | Ryder DiFrancesco | (Hus) | 51.562 |
| 4. | Max Anstie | (Yam) | 51.750 |
| 5. | Lux Turner | (Yam) | 52.196 |
| 6. | Max Vohland | (Yam) | 52.692 |
| 7. | Joshua Varize | (Kaw) | 52.696 |
| 8. | Cameron McAdoo | (Kaw) | 52.759 |
| 9. | Carson Mumford | (KTM) | 52.829 |
| 10. | Hunter Yoder | (Yam) | 52.939 |
Denver Notes
- Eli Tomac returns to action today after crashing in Cleveland and missing the last two rounds
- Joey Savatgy crashed in 450 Q1 and injured his wrist. He’s out for tonight’s racing
- Cameron McAdoo is back on track after recovering from a fractured humerus in Seattle
- Kayden Minear makes his pro debut today with the Star Racing Yamaha team
- Gage Linville starts his time with the Triumph Factory Racing Team today
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The Colorado Avalanche will face the Minnesota Wild in the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Here’s the schedule and how to watch each game as the Avs continue their 2026 playoff run starting Sunday at Ball Arena.
Avs vs. Wild playoff schedule
Game 1: 7 p.m. Sunday, May 3, Minnesota at Colorado, TNT, truTV, HBO MAX
Game 2: TBD, Minnesota at Colorado
Game 3: TBD, Colorado at Minnesota
Game 4: TBD, Colorado at Minnesota
Game 5*: TBD, Minnesota at Colorado
Game 6*: TBD, Colorado at Minnesota
Game 7*: TBD, Minnesota at Colorado
*If necessary
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