Republican Hope Scheppelman announced her candidacy in the 3rd Third Congressional District on Monday. She’s mounting a primary challenge against first-year U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd, R-Grand Junction, accusing him of having disdain for the MAGA wing of the party.
This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at cpr.org.
Scheppelman, a Navy veteran who lives in the town of Bayfield in southwest Colorado, worked for years as a critical care nurse. She also served as vice chair of the state Republican Party until she was unseated in March.
In her campaign launch, she called Hurd 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 said in a written statement.
Hope Scheppelman in a screenshot from her 3rd Congressional District campaign announcement video.Hurd, an attorney from Grand Junction, originally got into politics to challenge Republican firebrand U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert. After she switched congressional district, 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 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,” Hurd’s campaign said in a written statement.
Jeff Hurd, 3rd Congressional District Republican candidate, left, greets supporters before election results came in at his and 1st District Commissioner Republican candidate Cody Davis’ joined private election watch party at the Warehouse 25sixty-five on Nov. 5, 2024. (Larry Robinson, Grand Junction Sentinel)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 3rd Congressional District is rated as “likely Republican” for 2026 by Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election prognosticator.
Hurd defeated his Democratic opponent, former Aspen City Councilman Adam Frisch, by 5 percentage points in November.
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 the 3rd District 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.”
This story was produced by the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Funding for the Alliance is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
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