Frank Hernandez (Colorado)
Frank Hernandez (unaffiliated) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Colorado's 3rd Congressional District. He did not appear on the ballot for the general election on November 5, 2024.
Hernandez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Frank Hernandez was born in Montrose, Colorado. He served in the U.S. Army from 1998 to 2020. He earned a military citation from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in 2017 and a graduate degree from the University of Kansas in 2017. His career experience includes working as a teacher.[1]
2024 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified the November 5, 2024, general election as a battleground race. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.
Jeff Hurd (R) defeated Adam Frisch (D) and two others in the general election for Colorado's 3rd Congressional District on November 5, 2024.
Incumbent Lauren Boebert (R) ran for re-election in the 4th District, leaving the 3rd District open.
Based on fourth-quarter reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, Frisch raised $17.2 million and spent $17.3 million, and Hurd raised $2.8 million and spent $2.8 million. To review all the campaign finance figures in full detail, click here.
Hurd won the Republican primary, running on a platform of growing Colorado's rural economies.[2] He defeated five other candidates with 42% of the vote. The next closest candidate, Ron Hanks (R), received 28% of the vote.
Frisch was uncontested in the Democratic primary. He was the Democratic nominee in 2022, losing the general election to Boebert 50.1% to 49.9%. In that election, Frisch described himself as "a pro-business, pro-energy, moderate, pragmatic Democrat."[3]
Leading up to the primary, Democratic group Rocky Mountain Values PAC spent around $500,000 on ads promoting Hanks and opposing Hurd. Frisch's campaign did the same with around $100,000. A Republican super PAC, The Congressional Leadership Fund, spent $436,000 in one week on ads against Hanks, which claimed he was too liberal on gun issues.[4] According to Axios Denver, a Hanks' victory could have made the district more vulnerable to a Democratic win in November, but the primary result gave "establishment Republicans [Hurd] a victory against pro-Trump forces [Hanks] and [made] it more likely Republicans will retain the seat in the November election."[5]
According to Colorado Politics, the district was "still considered in play" before the election.[6] Additionally, former President Donald Trump (R) carried the district by 15 percentage points in 2016. This advantage was nearly halved in 2020, when he carried the district by 8.3 percentage points.[6] Before the election, four major election forecasters differed in their ratings of the general election, with three rating it Likely Republican and one rating it Lean Republican.
The Journals' Sandra Fish and Jesse Paul said, "The district hasn’t sent a Democrat to Congress since 2008. And when redistricting happened in 2021, the 3rd District was made more favorable to Republicans. Excluding Boebert’s 546-vote win in 2022, the closest 3rd District race since Republicans took control of the district in 2010 happened that year, when Tipton beat incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. John Salazar by 4 percentage points."[4]
Colorado's 3rd Congressional District was one of 34 congressional districts with a Republican incumbent or an open seat that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) targeted in 2024. To read about DCCC targeting initiatives, click here. For a complete list of DCCC targeted districts, click here.
Frisch was, at the time of the election, a business owner and substitute teacher.[7][8] His priorities were inflation, women's rights, ranching, and farming. Frisch said he would work to secure the southern border and lower gas prices.[9]
Hurd was, at the time of the election, an attorney and manager of the Grand Junction office of Ireland Stapleton Pryor & Pascoe PC.[10] He said he would focus on legislation that would benefit water, energy, and natural resources if elected. [9] Like Frisch, Hurd also said he would work to secure the southern border and lower gas prices.[9]
James Wiley (L) and Adam Withrow (Unity Party of Colorado) also ran in the election.
Elections
2024
See also: Colorado's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024
Colorado's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024 (June 25 Republican primary)
Colorado's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024 (June 25 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House Colorado District 3
Jeff Hurd defeated Adam Frisch, James Wiley, and Adam Withrow in the general election for U.S. House Colorado District 3 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jeff Hurd (R) | 50.8 | 201,951 |
 | Adam Frisch (D) | 45.8 | 182,147 | |
 | James Wiley (L)  | 2.7 | 10,734 | |
 | Adam Withrow (Unity Party) | 0.7 | 2,721 | |
| Total votes: 397,553 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Frank Hernandez (Unaffiliated)
- Gary Swing (Unity Party)
- Mark Elworth Jr. (L)
- David Whitley (L)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Colorado District 3
Adam Frisch advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Colorado District 3 on June 25, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Adam Frisch | 100.0 | 51,719 |
| Total votes: 51,719 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Anna Stout (D)
- Debby Burnett (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Colorado District 3
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Colorado District 3 on June 25, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jeff Hurd | 41.2 | 36,505 |
 | Ron Hanks | 28.5 | 25,211 | |
 | Stephen Varela | 9.8 | 8,638 | |
 | Lew Webb | 8.0 | 7,094 | |
 | Curtis McCrackin | 6.5 | 5,772 | |
 | Russ Andrews | 6.0 | 5,304 | |
| Total votes: 88,524 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Austin O'Connell (R)
- Jason Bias (R)
- Joe Granado (R)
- Robin Heid (R)
- David Karpas (R)
- Kimberly Swearingen (R)
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
Polls are conducted with a variety of methodologies and have margins of error or credibility intervals.[11] The Pew Research Center wrote, "A margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level means that if we fielded the same survey 100 times, we would expect the result to be within 3 percentage points of the true population value 95 of those times."[12] For tips on reading polls from FiveThirtyEight, click here. For tips from Pew, click here.
The links below show polls for this race aggregated by FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, where available. Click here to read about FiveThirtyEight's criteria for including polls in its aggregation.
Election campaign finance
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Frisch | Democratic Party | $17,188,573 | $17,314,502 | $239,381 | As of December 31, 2024 |
| Russ Andrews | Republican Party | $471,361 | $471,361 | $0 | As of August 21, 2024 |
| Ron Hanks | Republican Party | $42,285 | $41,795 | $490 | As of December 31, 2024 |
| Jeff Hurd | Republican Party | $2,769,794 | $2,759,491 | $10,303 | As of December 31, 2024 |
| Curtis McCrackin | Republican Party | $73,365 | $71,303 | $9,716 | As of July 15, 2024 |
| Stephen Varela | Republican Party | $292,479 | $292,479 | $0 | As of October 14, 2024 |
| Lew Webb | Republican Party | $219,000 | $218,631 | $369 | As of December 31, 2024 |
| James Wiley | Libertarian Party | $282 | $0 | $282 | As of September 30, 2023 |
| Adam Withrow | Unity Party | $438 | $768 | $-280 | As of October 16, 2024 |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[13][14][15]
If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.
| By candidate | By election |
|---|---|
Race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[16]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[17][18][19]
| Race ratings: Colorado's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| November 5, 2024 | October 29, 2024 | October 22, 2024 | October 15, 2024 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter | Lean Republican | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | |||||
| Decision Desk HQ and The Hill | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week. | |||||||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Hernandez in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Frank Hernandez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hernandez's responses.
| Collapse all
- I am seeking office to provide, protect and preserve what matters most to Coloradans! Your voice IS what matters most.
- I believe elected officials are to be the voice of the people. Every policy decision must be indicative of that voice!
- I am a moderate, willing to work with anyone to arrive at outcomes that will benefit Colorado House District 3. As a former service member, and now educator, I have seen and felt the impacts of good and bad policy decisions.
Trust that I am working to ensure Colorado has the representation it deserves! Everyday. Always.
Empowerment enables us to serve leaders in the classroom, home, community and government. We are empowered through knowledge and should constantly seek opportunities to research and learn the potential impacts of all policy decisions.
Accountability is a mindset, and it starts with me. I am accountable as a teacher and public servant. I owe you nothing less.
Mentorship is key to success. I have received great mentorship throughout my life. In this position, I seek daily mentorship from my constituents. That mentorship sets us up for success today and in the future.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on February 3, 2024
- ↑ Jeff Hurd 2024 campaign website, "Issues," accessed July 8, 2024
- ↑ CPR News, "Democrat Adam Frisch on how he plans to unseat Lauren Boebert in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District," September 9, 2022
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Journal, "Jeff Hurd wins Republican primary in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District," June 29, 2024
- ↑ Axios Denver, "Jeff Hurd wins GOP nod in Colorado's 3rd Congressional District," June 25, 2024
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Colorado Politics, "Colorado Democrat Adam Frisch calls on Biden to withdraw as party's presidential nominee," July 2, 2024
- ↑ Adam Frisch 2024 campaign website, "Meet Adam," accessed July 9, 2024
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Adam Frisch," accessed July 15, 2024
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 KOAA News 5, "Meet the candidates on November’s ballot for Colorado's Congressional District Three," June 26, 2024
- ↑ Jeff Hurd 2024 campaign website, "Meet Jeff," accessed April 19, 2024
- ↑ For more information on the difference between margins of error and credibility intervals, see explanations from the American Association for Public Opinion Research and Ipsos.
- ↑ Pew Research Center, "5 key things to know about the margin of error in election polls," September 8, 2016
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
