While Club 20’s candidates’ debate day in Grand Junction Saturday offered voters the chance to hear from candidates for 13 statewide and congressional offices, the marquee event of the day was clearly the contest for Congressional District 3.

It was the first debate between Democrat Adam Frisch and Republican Jeff Hurd, and the gloves came off from the first moment.

The district covers almost the entirety of the Western Slope and much of southern Colorado, all the way to Pueblo County, which includes 27 counties and has about 700,000 residents.

Only major party candidates were included in Saturday’s debates, although the ballot for CD3 also includes candidates from the Libertarian and Unity parties.

Frisch won the coin toss. He began by highlighting his family history and pointing out he’s driven 70,000 miles in the district. Rural Colorado has been left behind, Frisch said. The number one thing he said he hears is that everyone on the Western Slope feels forgotten and taken advantage of by Denver.

“We’re tired of big city people telling us” how to live, work and play, and “tired of national partisan politics, the yelling and screaming and the ‘anger-tainment’ industry that seeps into our lives,” which Frisch called disruptive to families and a distraction from issues residents have in common.

“I don’t have any room for partisan politics,” Frisch said, adding that, unlike his opponent, he doesn’t take corporate contributions or money from Denver lobbyists, a theme he repeated throughout the debate.

Hurd responded to the attack, stating Frisch does take corporate money, donations that flow through Democratic political action committees. He repeated that statement frequently throughout the hour of sparring.

Hurd also pointed to his Western Slope roots, noting he’s a lifelong resident of the district, including service as chair of the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce, small business owner, and attorney. “I know rural Colorado…It’s personal for me,” he added. He identified the major issues the district faces as securing the border, energy, and protecting water and agriculture.

He called Frisch an Aspen Democrat (Frisch served on the Aspen City Council) and attacked Frisch for spending millions of dollars to persuade voters to back Hurd’s primary opponent, former state lawmaker Ron Hanks of Cañon City, believing Hanks would be easier to beat in a general election.

It then proceeded to the questions, the first of which addressed nuclear energy and exposed differences in energy policy.

Frisch said he’s a big believer in an “all of the above” policy, and nuclear needs to be at the table. He added that foreign countries such as Iran and Venezuela are being asked to bail out the U.S. on energy.

“I say ‘best of the above,'” Hurd said. He added he would fight for energy families and said if people care about the environment, economy, and national security, it’s coal, gas, nuclear, and renewables.

Water and the next step for the Colorado River and its users were also on the agenda.

Hurd said he’s supported by the only two state lawmakers (Republicans Sen. Cleave Simpson and Rep. Marc Catlin) who own water rights and would fight against any water export project. He later told Colorado Politics that that includes the Renewable Water Resources plan to export water from the San Luis Valley to Douglas County.

Hurd said he believes the lower basin states on the Colorado River use more water than they’re allotted. “We are outnumbered by the lower basin states,” he told the audience and the district needs someone who knows the law or is willing to learn it.

Frisch said it was important to ensure the Colorado River issue isn’t solved on the backs of Colorado nor the Western Slope and to empower those negotiating the next round of operating guidelines for the Colorado River on Colorado’s behalf, including Becky Mitchell, Colorado’s representative on the Upper Colorado River Commission.

Economic issues also arose, and the candidates were asked how they would relieve the financial burden on CD3 residents.

“Inflation is a killer,” Hurd said, adding he would work hard to be a part of a solution to fix a broken Washington, D.C. That would include government regulations that overburden businesses and make it hard for them to thrive.

Frisch said that while inflation is down, the cost of living is still high, and interest payments on the national debt exceed defense spending. He blamed “corporatization” for high prices, including corporate agriculture, which he said is killing the ranching and farming industries.

On rebuttal, Hurd pointed out that Frisch has taken corporate money from trial lawyers through Democratic PACs. He likened it to getting food from Taco Bell but delivered by a food delivery business. “It doesn’t change what’s in the bag,” Hurd said.

The candidates were questioned about strategies for attracting and retaining a talented workforce in technology, health care, and education.

Frisch said CD3 is a small business community and that housing and child care are too expensive.

“We need to figure out how to cut red tape,” Frisch said, and work with colleges and universities to make sure the jobs are available in the district and look for opportunities with apprenticeships.

Hurd agreed with Frisch’s points and said he would also work to eliminate red tape that kills small businesses and support laws for a diverse economy.

The final question was on the polarized political climate.

Hurd said it’s critical to have bipartisan support and foolish to say it isn’t necessary. He said water is an issue that politicians can unite on. “I’m not going to be successful in representing the district unless I can work with our congressional delegation” and with the Democrats at the state Capitol.

Things got heated in the last 20 minutes of the debate when the candidates asked each other questions. While the candidates were asked to avoid attacking speech or language, that wasn’t always the case.

Frisch began by asking Hurd about banks he represented and to release a list of his legal clients so that voters could understand Hurd’s conflicts of interest in Congress.

“It’s a little ironic that a Manhattan currency trader is talking about Wall Street,” Hurt retorted.

Frisch pointed out he supports reproductive choice and asked how Hurd would vote on Amendment 79, the statewide ballot measure that would affirm the right to abortion in the state constitution. “I’m pro-life with exceptions,” and this is a state issue, Hurd said, with some difficulty, since Frisch interrupted Hurd as he tried to answer. “It’s my five minutes,” Frisch argued.

Frisch next asked about corporate money Hurd is taking for the campaign. Would he return it? And how does that help families and businesses in CD3? “I can ask you the same question,” Hurd replied.

Frisch also chided Hurd for avoiding primary debates. “You’ve not had a single event open to the public, only closed-door meetings with no notice to the vast majority of voters who are not insiders.”

Hurd said the campaign is not a box-checking exercise. “You can have all the money in the world and travel all across the district but still lose. You have to be authentic. You have to connect with trust, and that’s what I tried to do. That’s what wins elections.”

When Hurd asked the questions, he doubled down on Frisch’s comments about avoiding “anger-tainment” but seemed to engage it in the debate. “You talked about you going back to pro-normal politics; you said it’s benefiting and helping rural Colorado and stopping the circus and entertainment in politics…It seems to be at the core of who you are as a candidate,” Hurd said.

They sparred over the ads for Hanks. Frisch acknowledged his role, stating they decided they had resources to work on the same messaging in the primary as they would in the general election, that Hanks was too extreme for Colorado. “I stand by that now,” Frisch said.

In closing, Frisch said CD3 is about to move on from four years of ineffectual leadership, referring to U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, who moved from CD3 to CD4, fearing she would lose to Frisch.

“We do not need to start an era of a different, more harmful type of ineffectual leadership beholden to others, regardless of what party it is hiding,” and accused Hurd of hiding from voters by not engaging in debates or open meetings. “Showing up is not optional for this job.”

Hurd’s closing pointed to Frisch’s attempts to tie him to the position of supporters (such as Sean Tonner and former Gov. Bill Owens of Renewable Water Resources) rather than addressing the real issues. “If Adam wants to play that game, then he should be ready to answer for every position held by his supporters. He wouldn’t be able to stand that really quickly,” Hurd said.

Hurd closed by telling the audience he’s a problem-solving Republican. “I wasn’t afraid to take on a tough challenge when I first entered this race more than a year ago. I won’t be afraid to fight for you in Congress,” and with one more dig on money, added that Frisch has raised millions of dollars more than he has. “Just remember when you see those ads, what he says isn’t what he does. And at the end of the day, dollars don’t vote. People vote.”

Frisch told Colorado Politics after the debate he felt good about his performance.

“I had other questions…there should have been a series of forums” that Frisch said Hurd has skipped.

He added, “Part of this job is showing up. I don’t know how you can be an effective member of Congress” by hiding in the primary and the general election. It’s important to get out there” to voters of all political views and answer questions. “We have our method of earning trust; Jeff has his own,” yet Hurd won’t own up to his connections in Denver, he added.

Hurd said he believed the debate went well. “I hit most of my points and hit [Frisch] on his fundamental weaknesses,” such as being “a liberal Democrat who pretends to be a moderate” and taking corporate money. Frisch talks about going back to pro-normal politics and then spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on the primary, Hurd added.

“He’s not used to being challenged,” Hurd said, and the only way he’ll win is through baseless attack ads. I won’t take anything for granted. This is a gigantic district; a lot of people might not see the debate, and I have to get the word out.”

The two are scheduled to debate again on Sept. 30 in a debate sponsored by the Pueblo Chamber of Commerce and Colorado Politics at 6:30 p.m. at the Pueblo Community College Hoag Theater.