Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton has qualified for the primary ballot in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District after submitting a sufficient number of valid signatures on his nominating petitions, the Colorado Secretary of State's Office said.

Tipton, who is seeking a sixth term representing the sprawling district, is facing a primary challenge from Lauren Boebert, the owner of Shooters Grill in Rifle.

Of the 3,058 signatures the Tipton campaign turned in, officials determined 2,109 were valid, giving the Cortez lawmaker a comfortable margin over the 1,500 required for congressional candidates to make the June 30 ballot.

Boebert is pursuing a spot on the ballot through the assembly process, which will require getting the support of at least 30% of the delegates who will convene April 17 in a virtual meeting.

Both Republicans are claiming they're the candidate who most strongly supports President Donald Trump, though Trump has made clear he backs Tipton's re-election bid.

In December, Trump tweeted that the incumbent, one of his presidential campaign's state co-chairs, had his "Complete and Total Endorsement." Trump also embraced Tipton on stage in February at a massive campaign rally in Colorado Springs, when he thanked him for his support.

Tipton has made it past primary challengers twice since first winning election in 2010 to represent the district, covering most of the Western Slope, Pueblo County and the San Luis Valley.

Three Democrats are running for their party's nomination in the district, which leans Republican but has sent members of both parties to Congress over the decades.

Former state Rep. Diane Mitsch Bush, D-Steamboat Springs, who lost to Tipton in the last election, is vying for a spot on the primary ballot with James Iacino, a former seafood executive who moved last year from Denver to Montrose, and Root Routledge, a Durango climate activist. All three are pursuing the assembly route to the ballot.