Republican Hope Scheppelman formally announced her candidacy for the state’s Third Congressional District on Monday. She’s mounting a primary challenge against freshman GOP Congressman Jeff Hurd, accusing him of having disdain for the MAGA wing of the party.
Scheppelman, a Navy veteran who lives in Bayfield in southwest Colorado, worked for years as a critical care nurse. She also served as vice-chair of the state Republican Party. In her campaign launch, she criticized Hurd as anti-conservative.
“Jeff Hurd and his fake conservative puppet masters at ‘Americans for Chinese Prosperity’, the so-called AFP, tricked and lied to CD3 voters last year but they can’t deceive us any longer now that he’s exposed himself as just another liberal elitist who is dead set against President Trump and the millions of MAGA citizens like me who demand that Congress does the will of voters,” she declared in a press release announcing her candidacy.
Hurd, an attorney from Grand Junction, originally got into politics to challenge firebrand Rep. Lauren Boebert. After she switched races, he won the 2024 Republican primary and then the general election to represent the vast district that covers much of western and southern Colorado.
Since taking office in January, Hurd has struck a relatively moderate tone. He has criticized President Trump over his tariff policy and some spending cuts and program closures, but voted with the vast majority of House Republicans to help pass Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“Congressman Hurd is focused on delivering for the third congressional district, Colorado and America. He is proud to have played a role with President Trump in helping secure our border, unleash Colorado energy, and extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs act,” said a statement from Hurd’s campaign.
Hurd has said the district needs a hardworking representative focused on doing something rather than being someone. During the last campaign, he pledged to focus on practical, bipartisan solutions that directly impact his community.
The Third Congressional District is rated as ‘Likely Republican’ for 2026 by Cook Political Report. Hurd defeated his Democratic opponent, Adam Frisch, by five points last fall. Two years earlier, though, Boebert came within 546 votes of losing to Frisch. Two Democrats, financier and ski company founder Alex Kelloff from Old Snowmass and Kyle Doster of Grand Junction, have filed to run in 2026.
If elected, Scheppelman said she would prioritize securing the border, including with physical barriers, and said her mission is clear: to “stop the traffickers, and bring healing and safety to American families.”
