Colorado secretary of state: Boebert district switch ‘blatant self-preservation’

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) slammed Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) over her decision to switch districts for the 2024 election cycle, calling the move “blatant self-preservation.”

Boebert announced Wednesday that she will not seek reelection in the 3rd District and instead move to the 4th District, currently held by retiring Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.).

“She knows that she has failed the citizens of her district. She has failed to deliver for Coloradans on the western slope on issues that matter to them,” Griswold said in an MSNBC interview. “She has failed to deliver legislatively. There’s scandal after scandal after scandal.”

“I do think this is her trying to hold on to power,” she added.

Moving to the 4th District avoids a difficult general election rematch with likely Democratic candidate Adam Frisch, who has significantly out-fundraised Boebert so far in the campaign.

But Griswold said even a more conservative seat doesn’t necessarily mean she’ll be back in Congress.

“The bigger picture is that MAGA Republicans are vulnerable to defeat in swing districts and conservative districts,” she said. “We saw that play out in 2022, where we were able, as the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State, to help defeat election deniers in every battleground state where they were running.” 

“I think that Americans generally do not like extremism,” she continued. “They like people who say they’re gonna go get things done and go do it.”

The chair of the Colorado GOP also criticized Boebert’s switch Thursday, saying the party “didn’t think it was the best move.”

“Time will tell whether or not we’re right, but I think she’s got a serious challenge on our hands trying to explain to the voters of [Colorado’s 4th District] why she thought it was necessary to leave [Colorado’s 3rd District] and have a better chance at keeping her seat in Congress,” party chair Dave Williamson said. “It’s kind of a problematic proposition. But it’s again, it’s something for the voters to decide.”