Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert announced on Wednesday that she won’t be competing in the special election to replace GOP Rep. Ken Buck, whose district she’s running for in November.
Buck decided on Tuesday that he’d be leaving Congress earlier than previously announced by the end of next week, prompting a special election to temporarily fill his seat on June 25 — the same day as the already scheduled primary for the district. Boebert opted to run for Buck’s seat rather than seek reelection to her battleground district in late December, but wrote on X that she won’t “further imperil the already very slim House Republican majority” by running in the special election. (RELATED: House Republican Heads For The Exit, Leaves GOP With Razor-Thin Majority)
“Ken Buck’s announcement yesterday was a gift to the uniparty,” said Boebert. “The establishment concocted a swampy backroom deal to try to rig an election I’m winning by 25 points. Forcing an unnecessary Special Election on the same day as the Primary Election will confuse voters, result in a lameduck Congressman on day one, and leave the 4th District with no representation for more than three months. The 4th District deserves better.”
“I will not further imperil the already very slim House Republican majority by resigning my current seat and will continue to deliver on my constituents’ priorities while also working hard to earn the votes of the people of Colorado’s 4th District who have made clear they are hungry for a real conservative,” Boebert added. “I am the only Trump-endorsed, America First candidate in this race and will win the 4th District’s Primary Election on June 25th and General Election on November 5th.”
US Rep. Ken Buck, R-CO, arrives for an intelligence briefing by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 15, 2024. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
After experiencing several personal headwinds in 2023, and being faced with a strong Democratic challenger in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, Boebert decided to run in the 4th Congressional District on the other side of the state that is friendlier to Republicans.
The congresswoman also would’ve faced a competitive challenger in Republican attorney Jeff Hurd for the party’s nomination. Democrat Adam Frisch challenged Boebert for the second time after coming within 546 votes of defeating her in the 2022 midterms.
In the 4th Congressional District, a long list of GOP hopefuls had already announced their candidacies following Buck’s initial retirement announcement in early November, but Boebert quickly became the Republican primary’s frontrunner.
A late February Kaplan Strategies poll found the congresswoman leading the crowded field with 32% support, with no other candidate notching double-digit support.
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