Back when a Republican still represented Colorado in the U.S. Senate, something bizarre stood in the way of then-Sen. Cory Gardner’s path to reelection: a cardboard cutout of himself.

Starting in early 2017, after Donald Trump first became president, an activist began carrying around the life-size cutout, hosting mock town halls with it while, for more than a year, Gardner wouldn’t organize one of his own. When Gardner finally buckled to the pressure and hosted three in-person town halls in one day, he was shouted down and drowned out by angry voters. He would go on to lose the 2020 election to Democrat John Hickenlooper, drawing only 44% of the vote.

Nearly eight weeks into Trump’s return to office, Colorado Democrats want to use that sort of tactic again.

“That’s the kind of thing we’ve got to do at town halls all around the state,” Hickenlooper said during his own virtual town hall last week, in reference to “Cardboard Cory.” “I think then they become more afraid of you — of us — than of Trump.”

Political operatives on both sides of the aisle have long seen town halls as a tool to make waves and regain their footing in the public square when they lack legislative power. While Republicans have faced the pressure of town halls in years when Trump is in office, in 2009, it was Democrats whose forums began being swarmed by the conservative Tea Party movement during President Barack Obama’s first term.

This winter, after several instances of intense backlash over Trump’s policies at town halls throughout the country, national Republican campaign leaders urged members to host virtual town halls instead of in-person events. They’ve accused Democrats of organizing protests and paying “troublemakers” to attend.

Although liberal groups openly encourage people to attend town halls and offer strategic tips on how to prepare for the events, there hasn’t been evidence made public of people being paid to attend.

In Colorado, Republicans are so far following the advice from national GOP leaders. Two of the four Republican representatives from the state, Jeff Crank and Jeff Hurd, have hosted events only virtually. The other two, Lauren Boebert and Gabe Evans, haven’t hosted any this year.

Spokespeople for Boebert and Evans have said both plan to host events soon.

“We will do town halls, and we will do them in a way that allows constituents’ concerns to be heard without being drowned out by yelling activists,” said Delanie Bomar, a spokeperson for Evans.Evans, who narrowly defeated Rep. Yadira Caraveo in November to represent Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, is one of the most vulnerable Republicans in Congress. Protests and online campaigns demanding that he host a town hall have begun.

Hurd, who succeeded Boebert in Congress in January after she moved to another district, hosted his first town hall on Tuesday night, answering friendly and pointed questions in a virtual hearing. About 1,000 of the 7,500 people who took part were people from outside the district, according to his staff.

Laila Elagamy, a spokesperson for Hurd, said the congressman’s staff didn’t vet questions before the event.

Hurd, who lives in Grand Junction, answered questions about the firing of U.S. Forest Service employees and other stewards of federal public lands and about immigration, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, firearms and Medicaid.

He also faced direct questions asking when he would host an in-person town hall.

He opened the hearing with an emphasis on how vast his district is — stretching from Trinidad, near the New Mexico line, up to northwest Colorado’s Moffat County and the state lines of Wyoming and Utah. He said a tele-town hall allowed him to hear from constituents across the district.

“I think it’s important for me to see folks face to face,” Hurd said in response to a caller’s question. “What I would say is, I want to make sure that it’s a productive dialogue and that we’re talking about issues that I’m hearing from my constituents — and that we’re not devolving into political theater.”

Several Colorado Democrats have seized on the line that Republicans aren’t hosting enough town halls.

Attorney General Phil Weiser, who in January announced he’s running for governor in 2026, said it plainly at an in-person town hall hosted by Rep. Brittany Pettersen on March 8 at a Lakewood high school.

“Here’s the split screen I want: Thousands of people here to support Brittany Pettersen flying to D.C. with her baby to stand up for the rule of law. On the other screen is Republican members of Congress, afraid to hold town halls because they don’t want to answer to the harms that they are complicit in,” he said, according to a video of the event. Pettersen’s office said more than 1,800 people attended.

Rep. Jason Crow made a similar comment during his event Feb. 27 to a packed auditorium at an Aurora high school, an event that also was streamed online.

“If they make a decision to stop doing town halls — to stop showing up — then don’t let them go anywhere without you showing up,” he said.