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 on Facebook. “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 pro-Trump Republican from Silt, Colorado, 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.
Boebert, who turned 37 earlier this month, 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 also been criticized for various controversial statements she’s made during her short stint in office, shocking Democrats across the aisle and repelling even members of her own party.
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. Several high-powered Republican politicos, like…
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