Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) called Rep. Ken Buck’s (R-Colo.) decision to resign early “weak sauce” but said she would not be resigning to run in the special election to fill his seat.
Boebert represents the state’s 3rd Congressional District, which includes the Western Slope and much of southern Colorado. She announced late last year, however, that she would run for Buck’s seat, which is the 4th District in eastern Colorado, after Buck announced he would not seek reelection.
But Buck moved up his retirement, saying Tuesday he plans to leave Congress at the end of next week. The decision triggers a special election this summer to fill out the remainder of his term and threatens Boebert’s chances of being elected to his seat.
The development raised questions about whether Boebert would try to fill Buck’s seat for the remainder of his term. However, Boebert told The Hill: “I’m not leaving my constituents in the 3rd district.”
Boebert said she’s still planning to run in the GOP primary in June to serve the full two-year term in the 4th District and criticized Buck’s decision to leave his House seat early in a statement issued through her campaign.
“Ken Buck’s announcement yesterday was a gift to the Uniparty. The establishment concocted a swampy backroom deal to try to rig an election I’m winning by 25 points,” she said. “Forcing an unnecessary Special Election on the same day as the Primary Election will confuse voters, result in a lame duck Congressman on day one, and leave the 4th District with no representation for more than three months. The 4th District deserves better.”
Boebert also touted that she was the “only Trump-endorsed, America First candidate in this race.”
Boebert, who entered Congress in 2020, is in a tough spot politically. The Colorado Republican barely won reelection in the state’s 3rd District against Democrat Adam Frisch in 2022. Her decision to switch districts was seen as a move to avoid losing in her current district, where Frisch has announced he is running again.
But the special election triggered by Buck’s earlier-than-expected retirement has thrown a wrench in her electoral prospects. Each party gets to nominate a candidate to face off in the June 25 special election — held the same day as the state’s primaries.
Because Buck’s district is reliably red, whichever Republican gets chosen to compete in the special election is better positioned to win the GOP primary for the two-year term to serve in the district beginning in January because voters will weigh in on both races on the same day.
Boebert would have had to resign from her seat to compete in the special election for Buck’s seat, which would have further imperiled the GOP majority in the House.