Democrat Adam Frisch attacked his 2024 opponent Lauren Boebert (R-CO) over her voting record on veterans issues, dismissing a Purple Heart ceremony she attended as a “photo op.”
Master Staff Sgt. Jerry Harris was wounded in battle over 50 years ago but never received a Purple Heart. The Mesa County Veterans Services helped him receive the medal and gave him the option of going through a senator’s office or Boebert’s, and he chose the congresswoman.
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“Like so many of our brave veterans, Sgt. Harris did not look for recognition for his service,” Boebert said at the event last month. “He did not join the military to receive awards. He joined to do his duty and to do it humbly.”
Boebert, who beat Frisch by fewer than 600 votes in the last cycle, was able to help him get the Purple Heart and attended the ceremony. Frisch responded to the event by accusing Boebert in a LinkedIn post of using Harris as a political prop.
“Lauren Boebert talks a big game about helping our Veterans,” the post reads. “But she usually is just helping them help herself create a photo op.”
He then brought up her votes on veterans bills, saying she voted against their interests “FIFTEEN times” in the last Congress and that she is “out of step with even her own party.”
Frisch was referring to Boebert’s votes against bipartisan measures such as the Honoring our PACT Act, which expanded services for illnesses related to toxic burn pit exposure, and the Protecting Moms Who Served Act.
The post received immediate pushback from Anthony Lee, the director of the Mesa County Veteran Services, who was at the event and facilitated the process to help Harris get his medal. Lee was the one who contacted Boebert’s office to ask for its assistance.
“Mr. Frisch, just to make things clear, this Veteran had requested the Congresswoman from CD3 to assist him with this medal,” Lee said in a comment responding to Frisch’s post. “I always give my Veterans a choice between her or our Senator, as I refuse to show political bias to ensure I can help every Veteran regardless of political affiliation.”
Lee continued, “Her staff was vital in making this recognition happen, just like the Senator’s staff is helpful when I reach out to them. This wasn’t a vote on something. This was a non political event and recognizing a Vietnam Veteran injured in battle, which we worked together on for 18 months. Using our image (Mr. Harris and I) for a political post is not appreciated.”
Lee could not be reached for comment.
“We deeply thank Sgt. Harris for his service to our country and the sacrifice that led to his deserved awarding of the Purple Heart. Veterans and service members have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, and Adam will always support them in Congress,” a spokesperson for Frisch said in a statement.
Boebert’s campaign manager, Drew Sexton, said it was “incredibly disturbing, but not surprising” that Frisch would “exploit the uplifting ceremony of a Purple Heart recipient to make it about his campaign.”
“Sadly, not even a heroic American like Mr. Harris can avoid Frisch’s thirst for scoring political points off of our veterans,” Sexton said in a statement. “Frisch should be ashamed and apologize directly to Mr. Harris for his sleazy post.”
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The congresswoman has previously defended her voting record on veterans’ issues.
“I voted for four pro-veteran bills that were signed into law and led several amendments to provide funding for mental health and other important services for our veterans,” she tweeted last year.
