In a true Colorado political surprise, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert announced Wednesday night that she will abandon the congressional district she has represented for nearly three years — and seek her party’s nomination in 2024 on the other end of the state.
Boebert said she will run to represent Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, vying to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, a fellow Republican.
“Personally, this announcement is a fresh start following a difficult year for me and my family,” Boebert said in a video announcement. “I will not allow dark money that is directed at destroying me to steal this seat. It’s not fair to the 3rd District and the conservatives there who have fought so hard for our victories, of which I’m incredibly grateful.”
The switch to another race is allowed by congressional candidacy rules, which only require that a candidate reside in the state, not the specific district. The Republican from Silt, on the Western Slope, was facing significant headwinds in next year’s election to keep her seat in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, where her recent conduct has been criticized as reckless.
She generated international headlines in September when she was escorted out of a performance of the touring Broadway musical “Beetlejuice” at Denver’s Buell Theatre for inappropriate behavior, as first reported by The Denver Post.
She has badly trailed Democrat Adam Frisch, a former Aspen City Council member, in fundraising for the race — and is also feeling heat from several candidates in her own party, most notably Grand Junction attorney Jeff Hurd, who want to beat her in next June’s Republican primary. In the 2022 election, Boebert beat Frisch by just 546 votes in a Republican-leaning district.
The 4th District, which covers most of the state’s Eastern Plains, from the Wyoming border to the Oklahoma panhandle, is being vacated by Buck, who has held the mostly rural district since 2015. Several Republicans have already announced their intention to run in that district, where recently redrawn boundaries have taken in suburban Douglas County, south of Denver.
Republican political analyst Dick Wadhams views Boebert’s announced switch as an admission that “the district was rejecting her, including the Republican Party.”
“When it gets down to it, it’s not about the 3rd District or the 4th District, it’s about her — and her obsession with staying in public office,” Wadhams said. “She’s flitting into the race thinking the sea is going to open up to her. It’s the ultimate arrogance.”
But David Wasserman, a senior editor and elections analyst for The Cook Political Report, said in a post on X Wednesday night that the news was good for “Republicans’ chances of holding onto (the 3rd District), as Boebert was the main reason it was in so much jeopardy.”
He said he would move the race from the “toss-up” category to “leans Republican.”
Boebert said the 4th District “is hungry for an unapologetic defender of freedom with a proven track record of standing strong for conservative principles.”
“I love Colorado’s 3rd District, and I will continue working as hard as I can for the remainder of my term to be a great representative for the district,” she said.
Boebert said she would be moving to the 4th District sometime next year, even though it is not a requirement that a member of Congress live in the district they represent.
Colorado Republican Party Chair Dave Williams said he was disappointed in Boebert’s decision.
“She is clearly concerned about losing to Jeff Hurd or Adam Frisch and is doing whatever she can to keep her seat in Congress — while jeopardizing our ability to retain Congressional District 3 as well as our slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives,” Williams said. “There were many Republicans counting on her in CD3, and they were let down today.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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