Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) announced Wednesday that she would not run in the special election to replace outgoing Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), whom she is seeking to replace in the general election.
“I’m not leaving my constituents in the 3rd District,” Boebert told reporters on Wednesday.
Her decision to forgo the special election comes the day after Buck announced he would be leaving Congress at the end of next week, with his last day set for March 22. The Colorado congressman announced last November that he would not seek reelection in 2024, but his early retirement in March came as a surprise to many.
Boebert was already running to replace Buck in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, after opting out of running for reelection to her seat in the 3rd District that she has held since 2021. She narrowly defeated Democrat Adam Frisch in the 2022 midterm elections but decided to campaign for Buck’s seat amid signs from polling and fundraising that Frisch was in a better position to defeat her this cycle.
When asked if she still plans to run for the 4th District, she said yes.
“I’m winning the primary and the general in the 4th,” Boebert said.
Buck’s retirement had put her in a difficult position. If she had decided to run for the special election and won it, she would have needed to resign her 3rd District seat, which would have created a vacancy and likely led to a Democratic pickup — further narrowing the House majority.
Eyes are already on the Republican candidates who will run for the 2024 special election. A spokesperson for Buck had previously confirmed to the Washington Examiner that it was possible the special election could occur on the same day as the primary election on June 25 for the full term, but that ultimately it is up to Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) to set a date.
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Eight GOP candidates, including Boebert, are running to replace Buck in the state’s most Republican district. The last time a Democrat won the seat was in 2008, but she served for one term before the district flipped back to red — so before Buck retired, whichever Republican wins the primary election in June was likely on track to win the general election in November.
The seven other Republican candidates are Deborah Flora, Ted Harvey, Richard Holtorf, Mike Lynch, Chris Phelen, Justin Schreiber, Jerry Sonnenberg, and Peter Yu. Any of them could opt to run for the special election and would, given the district’s red lean, probably win handily — setting the district up for a member vs. member fight in November if Boebert wins the full-term primary election.
