Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) dismissed claims that he is departing from Congress to stymie Rep. Lauren Boebert’s (R-Colo.) prospects of winning the 4th Congressional District seat.
Buck first declared last year that he would not run for reelection. He announced his early resignation from Congress on Tuesday, prompting a special election to fill his seat.
Boebert described Buck’s decision as “weak sauce,” calling it a “gift to the Uniparty.”
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“The establishment concocted a swampy backroom deal to try to rig an election that I’m winning by 25 points,” she stated earlier this week.
Buck shot back on Thursday, telling the Colorado Sun that it is “ridiculous” to suggest that his early departure is designed to make it more difficult for Boebert to win the election after she moved to run in his district. Buck also stated that he is not “giving anybody an advantage or disadvantage” in his district’s election.
“I have done my very best to stay out of this primary election,” he told the Colorado news source.
Buck also justified his decision to retire early, stating that he wanted the special election to coincide with the primary scheduled on June 25.
“I thought that was really important,” Buck explained.
Boebert stated that she would not run in the special election, preferring to focus on the primary.
“Forcing an unnecessary Special Election on the same day as the Primary Election will confuse voters, result in a lame duck Congressman on day one, and leave the 4th District with no representation for more than three months,” she said in a statement. “The 4th District deserves better.”
Boebert finds himself in a difficult political situation. Some argue that her move to the 4th district was an attempt to avoid losing to Democrat Adam Frisch, who ran a close race against her in 2022 but lost.
During the special election, each party nominates a candidate to run for the position of district representative for the duration of the current term. Because the election is scheduled on the same day as the state primary, whoever the Republicans choose will have an edge. To stand in the special election, Boebert would have to relinquish her 3rd District seat, but this would reduce the Republican majority in the lower chamber, which has already shrunk since Buck’s retirement.