Colorado Republican Ken Buck won’t run for Congress again: “We lost our way”

Rep. Ken Buck says he will not seek another term for the House of Representatives. The 64-year-old Republican represents Colorado’s 4th Congressional District and has served five terms in the district that includes portions of Northern and Eastern Colorado.

“Our nation is on a collision course with reality and a steadfast commitment to truth, even uncomfortable truths, is the only way forward,” Buck said in a reference to election denials from his own party about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Buck went on to say in a video news release, “We lost our way.”

In a statement Wednesday, the conservative said, “To my friends in Colorado, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve our nation, and to serve you. I look forward to seeing you at the grocery store and the high school football game. Being your representative in Washington, DC, has been the greatest professional thrill, and highest honor, of my life.”

Buck, 64, was one of eight Republicans who voted to oust former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy earlier this month.

Buck is from Windsor — about 60 miles north of Denver — and was first elected to Congress on Nov. 4, 2014. According to his website, he serves on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee.  He serves on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law, and he also serves on the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship. He also serves on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific and Western Hemisphere. 

Buck worked for Congressman Dick Cheney (R-Wyo.) after law school, before Cheney was vice president, and then became a prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1990, he joined the Colorado U.S. Attorney’s Office where he became the Chief of the Criminal Division. 

In 2004, Buck was elected Weld County District Attorney three times before he ran for Congress. 

Earlier this month, Buck said his office in Windsor would soon be forced to move after receiving an eviction notice. Buck, a longtime resident of Weld County, received an eviction notice from his Water Valley office space. A spokesperson for Buck said the eviction notice was given as a result of Buck’s refusal to vote for Jim Jordan as Speaker of the House of Representatives.