DENVER — Trisha Calvarese may not be a household name, but she hopes to send Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert packing.
“Getting rid of Lauren Boebert, I think, is absolutely urgent,” said Calvarese. "We're both millennials, we're both the same age. I just take a much different approach."
Calvarese, the Democratic nominee, and Boebert, the Republican nominee, are facing off in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District. The pair have only debated once, at a private golf club.
While Calvarese accepted Denver7’s debate invitation, Boebert declined. However, both agreed to sit-down interviews.
The 4th Congressional District, which includes Douglas County and the Eastern Plains, is new to Boebert but not to Calvarese.
“I’m a daughter of this district,” said Calvarese. “[My] earliest days were in Sterling, was baptized at St. Anthony's, grew up in Highlands Ranch. I’m a proud Douglas County graduate.”
Calvarese’s career took her to Washington, D.C., where she most recently worked for the AFL-CIO labor union. But life took an unexpected turn.
“Both parents got sick at the same time with cancer, and I’m the only child,” said Calvarese.
She moved back to Colorado to care for her ailing parents.
“I'm running because my dad, a lifelong Republican, told me to step up, to give back everything that this community has invested in me,” said Calvarese.
Hear the full one-on-one interview with Trisha Calvarese in the video player below:
Calvarese released an ad mocking Boebert's "Beetlejuice" incident. On the campaign trail, she has been very critical of Boebert for voting against the PACT Act, which expands care for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances.
“Lauren Boebert always says she's for America first, and I don't know how you can make that claim seriously when you constantly put our veterans last,” Calvarese said.
Calvarese is also critical of Boebert’s call for mass deportation of immigrants in the country illegally.
“I don't think most people want to pay, what was it, like, $300 billion for mass deportation,” Calvarese said. “I think if there is an identified gang member who's a member of a criminal organization from a foreign nation, absolutely, arrest and deport. In fact, even send them to the Hague.”
She said immigrants who are productive members of society should be allowed to stay.
“We want them in the system paying into Social Security, you bet,” Calvarese said. “I mean, we want immigration.”
Calvarese supports abortion rights.
“Women are dying preventable deaths, so we need to restore our rights that we had under Roe,” she said.
But Calvarese is not in total lockstep with members of her party on gun rights.
“We have a responsible gun ownership culture here in the West, especially on the Eastern Plains, and folks absolutely support the Second Amendment and believe in it. So, I’m not going to support a ban just automatically,” Calvarese said.
She does support Vice President Kamala Harris’s plan to expand child tax credits and could potentially get behind Harris’s plan to provide $25,000 in down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers.
“I want to make sure that we're not artificially driving down housing in a way that hurts homeowners as well,” Calvarese said. “But I think it's a good idea.”
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Calvarese promises to provide more help to farmers, an important constituency in the district.
“I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure that they can be prosperous because right now, a lot of them are underwater, frankly,” said Calvarese.
But Calvarese faces an uphill battle in a district where Republicans outnumber Democrats.
Former longtime Republican Congressman Ken Buck won the district by nearly 25 points two years ago and former President Donald Trump carried it by 16 points in 2020. But Calvarese believes the race is winnable.
Calvarese has raised more than $3 million for her campaign. She believes voters will see Boebert as a carpetbagger who’s only looking out for herself.
“I was raised on traditional family values. Both my parents were conservative, and they taught me you honor the dignity of work, you honor veterans, and you honor our seniors,” said Calvarese. “And I think that what's appealing to this district is somebody who's from the district, who gets it, who gets our struggles, and who's going to always have the backs of our veterans, our seniors, and our families.”
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