The news broke a bit early for her liking, but it’s out now. Grand Junction Mayor Anna Stout is in the race for the Third Congressional District.

Stout, first elected to the city council in 2019, said she decided to enter the race to be the Democratic Party’s nominee and the chance to run against the GOP incumbent, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, because she believes she can win.

“I’m running because the Third Congressional District needs a congressperson who’s going to get stuff done for the district, and somebody who is a known entity and trusted in the district already,” Stout said. “I think I fit the profile of somebody who can both beat Lauren Boebert, and do the work that CD3 expects its congressperson to do.”

Stout, who filed her paperwork with the Federal Election Commission earlier Wednesday and is planning to formally announce next Tuesday, isn’t the only Democrat in the race.

Her main contender for the nomination is Adam Frisch, who not only nearly won the seat last year against Boebert, but is out fund-raising the incumbent nearly three to one at this point.

In the second quarter of this year, Frisch raised about $2.6 million, compared to Boebert’s $750,000. That after Frisch pulled in more than $1 million dollars in the first quarter over the congresswoman, and that after only being an official candidate for about a month.

Overall, Frisch has raised about $4.4 million since January, compared to Boebert’s $1.6 million. After expenses, Frisch still has about $2.5 million in cash on hand to Boebert’s $1.4 million.

“Colorado’s Third Congressional District deserves a representative who is focused on building community, not chaos,” Frisch said. “After driving over 30,000 miles and continuing to host hundreds of listening events and meetings across our district, it’s clear that voters want a serious representative who works to find solutions to the problems facing their businesses, families and communities.”

Frisch nearly defeated Boebert last year, but ended up losing after a recount by only 546 votes. That narrow victory for Boebert, which was the closest congressional contest in the nation last year, came as a surprise for many because the district had recently been redrawn to become more favorable for conservative candidates, going from a plus 5% to plus 9% Republican.

Stout’s entrance into the race drew immediate attention from national Republicans.

“While Anna Stout and Adam Frisch battle it out for who can go the farthest to the left in their quest for the Democratic nomination, Republicans are delivering real results by creating jobs and protecting water rights in the district,” said Delanie Bomar, spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “It doesn’t matter who gets the Democratic nomination, they will be left broke, bruised and unpalatable for general election voters.”

Meanwhile, there are three other Democrats vying in next year’s primary: Debby Burnett of Gunnison, Adam Withrow of Pueblo and David Karpas of Edwards, which isn’t actually in the district. While Withrow only got into the race about a month ago, and hasn’t yet reported any campaign donations, Burnett and Karpas reported very little, about $39,000 and $6,000, respectively.

Stout, who has lived in Grand Junction since 1989, is a graduate of Mesa District 51 schools and Colorado Mesa University. She has more than 20 years experience in business and nonprofits, and is the chief executive officer of the Roice-Hurst Humane Society.

She also is the founder and president of the Foundation for Cultural Exchange, a local nonprofit founded in 2004 to help facilitate Grand Junction’s sister city relationship with El Espino in El Salvador. She recently returned from a trip to El Salvador with a contingent of Grand Junction residents.

Stout, who was reelected to the Grand Junction council after running unopposed in April, also works as a certified court interpreter, is an American Translator Association certified translator and operates a translation business called Transfinem Language and Cultural Services.

She has a master’s degree in global affairs from the University of Denver. Her undergraduate degree, earned at CMU, is in Spanish literature and applied professional Spanish. Stout later taught Spanish at CMU.

Stout volunteers her time elsewhere, including as a current board member of the Animal Welfare Association of Colorado. She also sits on boards for Rocky Mountain Public Media, and serves as liaison at the Colorado Municipal League and the Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado.

In the past, she has served on the Grand Junction Business Incubator board, the Mesa County Animal Services Advisory board, the Grand Junction Downtown Development board and the Grand Junction Commission on Arts and Culture board.

Meanwhile on the Republican side, next year’s GOP primary race also features a challenger for Boebert, Russ Andrews of Carbondale.

As things stand right now, the winner of both party primaries could face a third-party candidate, but he also doesn’t live in the district.

That candidate, Gary Swing, is running in the Unity Party. Swing, who lives in Lakewood, has unsuccessfully run for various state and federal offices since 1996, previously with the Green Party, including running five times for the Second Congressional District, earning less than one-half of 1% of the vote.