DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, who plans to run for Colorado’s 4th Congressional District next year, will face a crowded Republican primary field as she tries to win over voters in a district she doesn’t live in yet.
Boebert, who currently represents Colorado's 3rd Congressional District, announced her intention to run for the seat which represents a more conservative part of Colorado in a video posted to social media on Wednesday.
Congressman Ken Buck, who currently holds the seat, is stepping down at the end of the current term, citing his party’s repeated lies about the 2020 election that he said have now set the nation “on a collision course with reality.”
“It’s the right move for me, personally, and it’s the right decision for those who support our conservative movement,” Boebert said.
Boebert said switching districts would be the best way to ensure Democrats don’t win the seat she currently holds in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, a seat she narrowly won last year by just 546 votes. By switching districts, Boebert avoids a potential rematch with her Democratic challenger Adam Frisch.
“I will not allow dark money that is directed at me personally to steal this seat. It’s not fair to the third district and the conservatives there who have fought so hard for our victories,” said Boebert.
Boebert must now prepare for a Republican primary for the 4th Congressional District.
Seven other candidates are running in the Republican primary, including former State Senator Ted Harvey. He said Boebert has turned into a career politician.
“She went to Washington, DC and obviously drank the Kool-Aid and became part of the swamp. And now, here she is desperately trying to hold on to any vestige of power that she has,” said Harvey.
Trent Liesy is another Republican candidate in CD4.
“It just proves that she's not a fighter,” said Liesy. “I mean, if she was a fighter, like she claims that she is, she would stay in CD3 and fight for her seat, but she's not because she knows she's gonna lose.”
State Representative Richard Holtorf, who is also running in CD4, called Boebert's decision to run in the district as an example of "seat shopping."
“She is grossly lacking in understanding the needs of the 21 counties in Eastern Colorado that make up this district. She knew she’d lose in her own district and I’ll show her that’ll she’ll lose here too," said Holtorf.
The candidates said they don't believe Boebert's high name recognition and ability to raise a lot of money will win her the nomination.
Boebert also faces other challenges, including connecting to a new set of voters that differ in many ways from her current constituents.
Her new district is a lot wealthier than the one she currently represents. The median household income in CD4 is $108,000, compared to $67,000 in CD3, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The residents of CD4 are also more educated. Nearly half of the people who live in CD4 have a bachelor’s degree, compared to just one-third of the constituents in Boebert’s current district.
While Boebert’s current district is located in rural Colorado, CD4 is a mixture of rural and suburban, with about half of the people in CD4 residing in Douglas County — part of the Denver metro area.
But CD4 is more solidly Republican than CD3. If Boebert wins the nomination, she'd be more likely to win the general election next November.
As for concerns about her residency, Boebert said she plans to move to CD4 in 2024.
Other Republican candidates for CD4 include, Deborah Flora, Mariel Bailey, Justin Schreiber and Jerry Sonnenberg.
