Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) will not run in the special election to replace outgoing Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) in Colorado’s Fourth Congressional District.
“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,” Boebert said in a statement shared with Breitbart News:
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 Fourth District with no representation for more than three months. The Fourth District deserves better.
After Buck revealed he would not seek reelection in November, Boebert announced she would run for reelection in Buck’s district, blaming Democrat “dark money” for trying to unseat her in the Third Congressional District, which she currently represents.
Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) (Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images)
Buck’s expedited departure forces the special election, and to run in that race, Boebert would need to resign her seat in the Third Congressional District, which would dwindle the Republican Party’s majority further — something she declared she would not do:
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 Fourth District who have made clear they are hungry for a real conservative.
“I am the only Trump-endorsed, America First candidate in this race and will win the Fourth District’s primary election on June 25 and general election on November 5,” she concluded.
Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) announced the special election date hours after Buck revealed he would be resigning from his seat by the end of “next week.”
I thank Congressman Ken Buck for his years of public service to Colorado. pic.twitter.com/F80hZckOJU
— Governor Jared Polis (@GovofCO) March 12, 2024
Buck told host Dana Bash on CNN’s News Central on Tuesday that his departure is so he can “get in the mix this election cycle,” as Breitbart News noted:
Buck said, “Well, everywhere I go in Colorado, Dana, I hear that people are not happy with Trump and are not happy with Biden. I think we need to change our electoral laws here, and I have a passion for that. I’m going to leave, and I’m going to find the right organization to join. I’m going to start working on that issue. We have to have better candidates up and down the ballot, not just president, but Senate, House, local offices. We’ve got to find better ways to elect candidates and bring America together.”
Bash said, “You already had announced that you were going to not run for reelection so why leave now and leave a vacancy in an already very narrow majority for your party?”
Buck said, “Yeah, because to me it’s important to get in the mix of this election cycle and start talking about the issues that people recognize our such a problem right now.”
Watch:
According to Newsweek, he also alluded to further GOP departures from this Congress.
Breitbart News Capitol Hill Correspondent Bradley Jaye contributed to this report. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
