Lauren Boebert Decides Not To Run in Special Election

(USNewsBreak.com) – Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) has made no bones about wanting to run for the seat that fellow Congressman Ken Buck (R-CO) is vacating. However, he recently announced that he was stepping down much sooner than expected, which left Boebert in a bit of a pickle. With a special election coming up on June 25, she had to decide between resigning from her current seat to make a bid now or wait until November. She has finally made her choice.

Boebert announced on Wednesday, March 13, that she would not be resigning from her current seat to fill the one Buck will leave empty when he steps down on March 22. Should she have vacated hers, that would have threatened the already-thin margin Republicans hold on the Lower Chamber. With Democrats bearing down on her seat, she would have left the House in a precarious condition.

Boebert slams Buck's decision as 'weak sauce,' says she won't run in special election https://t.co/f8mp87vNYT pic.twitter.com/5jP0V73PFx

— FOX31 Denver KDVR (@KDVR) March 13, 2024

However, according to The Hill, Boebert made it known that she believed Buck was playing games in leaving, calling it “a gift to the Uniparty” and accusing him of trying to carry out a “swampy backroom deal” and “rig an election [she’s] winning by 25 points.”

Buck, on the other hand, said it’s “ridiculous” that he’s trying to make it more difficult for Boebert to earn his spot, and that he’s stepping down because he feels increasingly fed up with the way things are playing out in Congress, and he “want[s] to be a voice for change in our system,” according to The Colorado Sun. He hasn’t endorsed anyone to take his place.

The controversial Colorado representative also faces an uphill battle to win the race later this year. She narrowly defended her seat in 2022 from Democrat challenger Adam Frisch, leading her to consider switching to the 4th District, which is reliably Red. However, to get to that point, she would have to win the already crowded state primaries, held on the same day as the special election.