Democratic candidate Colin Wilhelm, a Glenwood Springs resident who is vying for Rep. Lauren Boebert’s seat in the midterms, visited Craig on Tuesday to meet with voters on the campaign trail.

Wilhelm, who owns a law practice with his wife in Glenwood, said that Craig residents who visited with him at the McDonald’s on Victory Way mainly brought up concerns relating to the economy and inflation. Specifically, he said he spoke with constituents about topics including access to child care, rising gas prices and the Great Resignation, the economic trend that began in 2021 in which employees voluntarily resign from their jobs at unforeseen rates.

“I think that there’s this aura hanging about the power plant closing and coal plant closing, and what can we do to work on the economy of the future?” Wilhelm told the Craig Press. “How can we be proactive about that — while also recognizing that we are in a period of our time economically that is not super great in our country, but it’s not super great across the world? (When it comes to) gas prices and inflation, how can we deal with that, too? A lot of the issues were pocketbook-based.”

One of Wilhelm’s main concerns, if elected, would be the district’s future in regards to water. With some of the country’s largest rivers starting on CD-3 lands, he said he wants to focus on protecting fresh drinking water for the millions who are supported by the rivers while also protecting the rights of water users in the district.

“Being the headwaters, we have a duty to all the other communities that use it, but we also have a duty to ourselves,” he said. “And we can’t let other states and other communities force us to not have the water that we need as well.”

Colorado District 3 has traditionally elected Republican candidates, and incumbent Boebert is a favorite to win re-election. However, Wilhelm said that, if elected, he would actively work to represent all of the district — not just constituents that agree with him. He describes himself as a moderate Democrat and said he believes in the Second Amendment.

“My beliefs on an issue are only as important as yours, or anyone else’s in this office,” he said. “It’s one opinion — one belief out of 775,000 people, give or take whatever the district final number is. I’m honor-bound and duty-bound to vote the way that the majority of the district points, even if my belief doesn’t fit that way. And I think that that’s the job of a representative.”