Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert said she’s not interested in winning a special election to fill the remainder of Congressman Ken Buck’s term. Instead, Boebert said she will continue her campaign for the general election in November.
Buck announced last week he is stepping down on March 22 in part because of the dysfunction surrounding Congress. Buck also denied a claim by Boebert that his decision to resign before the end of his term was to make it harder for Boebert to take over his 4th Congressional District.
The Colorado Sun editor Larry Ryckman spoke with KUNC's Michael Lyle, Jr. about the controversy surrounding both political figures.
Boebert called Buck's decision “a swampy backroom deal to try to rig an election.” In an interview with The Sun, Buck said those accusations were "ridiculous."
"(Buck's) news really scrambled this year's GOP primary in the 4th Congressional District," said Ryckman. "He said he's not taking sides of the primary, but that it's time for him to move on. He also said he wants to advocate for electoral reforms to improve the caliber of candidates running for office."
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Colorado law does not allow candidates to run for two offices at the same time. Ryckman said that was one reason Boebert decided not to participate in the special election to replace Buck.
"She would have had to step down from her current job first," said Ryckman. "There's also no guarantee that she would win the special election or even be her party's preferred candidate. That was too big of a risk for her to take. She said stepping down would further imperil Republicans' majority in the House."
Boebert said she is still running in the GOP primary to be the nominee for the November election in the 4th District.
Ryckman said both Buck and Gov. Jared Polis chose the special election date to be on the same day as the primary election to save money on election costs.
"The head of the Colorado County Clerks Association agreed that having both elections on the same day would represent a big cost savings for counties," said Ryckman. "So the next big step will be for the Republican and Democratic vacancy committees to meet within the next few weeks to select their nominees for the special election."
Polis also said another reason June 25 was selected for the special election was that it's 95 days after Buck’s resignation becomes official, which would allow more preparation time for potential candidates vying for Buck's seat.
