Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) slammed the claims that he’s resigning from Congress to hinder Rep. Lauren Boebert’s (R-Colo.) chances of claiming his 4th Congressional District seat.
Buck initially announced last year that he would not be running for reelection. He announced his early retirement from Congress on Tuesday, triggering a special election to fill his spot.
Boebert characterized Buck’s decision as “weak sauce,” calling it 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 in comments earlier this week.
Buck fired back on Thursday, telling the Colorado Sun “it’s ridiculous” to say his early resignation is intended to make it tougher for Boebert to get elected after she switched to run in his district. Buck also said he is not “giving anybody an advantage or disadvantage” in his district’s race.
“I have done my very best to stay out of this primary election,” he told the Colorado news outlet.
Buck also explained his decision to announce an early retirement, saying he wanted the special election to overlap with the primary set for June 25.
“I thought that was really important,” Buck said.
Boebert said she will not compete in the special election, opting to focus on the primary.
“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,” she said. “The 4th District deserves better.”
Boebert is in a tough bind politically. Her switch to the 4th district has been deemed by some an attempt to avoid losing to Democrat Adam Frisch, who was in close contest against her in 2022, but ultimately lost.
In the special election, each party chooses a candidate to compete who will eventually represent the district for the remainder of the current term. Whoever the GOP picks will have an advantage as it’s being held on the same day as the state primary. For Boebert to compete in the special election, she would need to vacate her 3rd District seat, but the move would shrink the Republican majority in the lower chamber that has already downsized with Buck’s departure.