Political Pulse: Lauren Boebert's rhetoric under scrutiny

Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert's frequent use of Christian nationalist language in her public remarks is drawing concerns from religious and political scholars who suggest it promotes a violent overthrow of the government.

What she's saying: The first-term representative from Colorado's Western Slope amplified her call for a Christian takeover last week in a speech in Woodland Park, the Denver Post reports.

"It's time for us to position ourselves and rise up and take our place in Christ and influence this nation as we were called to do," she said.

• "We know that we are in the last of the last days. … You get to have a role in ushering in the second coming of Jesus," the congresswoman added.

Flashback: In prior speeches, Boebert declared: "I'm tired of this separation of church and state junk."

• She has claimed that God "anointed" Donald Trump to the presidency, and blamed the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas on "godlessness that is here overtaking America."
• She also called for Christians to remove "unrighteous … corrupt, crooked politicians."

Why it matters: "This is new and worrisome. There's an increasing number of people saying, 'We're in this battle for the soul of America,'" says Philip Gorski, a sociologist and co-director of Yale's Center for Comparative Research.

• "This is a very white movement, I don't think you can get away from that," adds Anthea Butler, chair of the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Religious Studies.

The other side: Ben Stout, a Boebert spokesperson, previously told Axios the congresswoman is not advocating for a theocracy, but believes the government should be guided by basic Christian principles.

👩 Between the lines: U.S. Senate candidate Joe O'Dea is among a handful of Republican candidates across the nation who are turning to their wives to help them attract support from women voters.

• In his latest campaign ad, O'Dea's wife Celeste touts her husband as a common-sense leader, saying: "He cares about the country, not a political party."

• The campaign strategy comes in the wake of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision on abortion bans and could make or break the party's chances in November, Politico reports.

📊 Number of the week: 2.9 percentage points. That's the edge in Democratic voter registration in Colorado over Republicans entering the 2022 midterms. Our analysis.

📺 What to watch: A Republican super-donor and critic of Gov. Jared Polis launched the most concerted effort yet against the Democrat's reelection with a 60-second prime-time ad this week.

👀 Worthy of your time: Colorado U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper and U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, both Democrats, are among the 97 members of Congress flagged for potential conflicts of interest because they traded stocks for companies influenced by their committees, the New York Times found.

🗳 Political Pulse is a regular feature from Axios Denver to catch up quick on politics news.