Populist firebrand Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., will not run in the special election for Colorado GOP Rep. Ken Buck’s seat, she declared Wednesday.
Buck stunned Republicans Tuesday by announcing he will leave Congress on March 22, a move that triggers a special election on June 25 to temporarily fill the vacancy in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District. His early retirement will reduce the House GOP majority even further.
Boebert, who currently represents Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, earlier this year announced she would run to succeed Buck in the 3rd. But on Wednesday, the congresswoman clarified she will not run in the special election to fill Buck’s vacancy, as doing so would require her to vacate her own seat.
In a post on X, Boebert called Buck’s announcement “a gift to the uniparty” and claimed establishment Republicans were attempting to “rig” an election “I’m winning by 25 points.”
GOP COLORADO REP KEN BUCK TO RESIGN FROM CONGRESS BY END OF NEXT WEEK
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., a member of the House Freedom Caucus, speaks during a news conference, July 14, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Boebert announced Wednesday that she will not run in the special election to fill a vacancy left by retiring Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
“Forcing an unnecessary Special Election on the same day as the Primary Election will confuse voters, result in a lameduck Congressman on day one, and leave the 4th District with no representation for more than three months. The 4th District deserves better,” Boebert said.
“I will not further imperil the already very slim House Republican majority by resigning my current seat and will continue to deliver on my constituents’ priorities while also working hard to earn the votes of the people of Colorado’s 4th District who have made clear they are hungry for a real conservative,” she continued.
“I am the only Trump-endorsed, America First candidate in this race and will win the 4th District’s Primary Election on June 25th and General Election on November 5th.”
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Representative Ken Buck, a Republican from Colorado, speaks during a panel discussion at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, U.S., on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. Buck stunned Republicans Tuesday by announcing he would leave Congress at the end of next week. (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Buck will leave Congress after serving in the House of Representatives since 2014. He is currently assigned to the House Judiciary Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee.
Though he holds a conservative voting record, Buck has demonstrated an independent steak that has at times put him at odds with other Republicans.
Buck was one of three House Republicans who opposed the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
LAUREN BOEBERT SWITCHES DISTRICTS, ANNOUNCING RUN FOR COLORADO SEAT BEING VACATED BY KEN BUCK
Instead of seeking re-election to Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, Boebert announced in December that she would be running for the House seat that’s being vacated by Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., in the state’s 4th District. Boebert claimed the decision to hold a special election to fill Buck’s vacancy on the same day as the GOP primary an “establishment” attempt to “rig” the election. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
After his resignation, the breakdown of Congress will be 431 members with 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats. The GOP will only be able to lose two votes of their own on any given issue.
The next special election is for the seat occupied by former Rep. Brian Higgins, D-N.Y., on April 30.
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If that seat stays in Democratic hands, the new breakdown is 432 members with 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats. That would mean the margin would effectively be one seat for the GOP.
Should the GOP lose just two votes there is a tie, and by rule, the vote will fail in the House.
Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price and Chad Pergram contributed to this update.
