Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) announced on Wednesday that she would not run for reelection in Colorado’s 3rd District and would instead run for Congress in the more conservative 4th District following a “pretty difficult year” of “personal mistakes.”
In a Facebook video, Boebert told supporters:
Today, I’m announcing my candidacy for the 2024 Republican nomination to represent Colorado’s 4th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. It’s the right move for me personally and it’s the right decision for those who support our conservative movement. This is the right move for Colorado, for us. Since the first day I ran for public office, I promised I would do whatever it takes to stop the socialists and communists from taking over our country. That means staying in the fight, but it also means not allowing Hollywood elites and progressive money groups to buy the 3rd District, a seat that they have no business owning. I will not allow dark money that is directed at destroying me personally to steal this seat. It’s not fair to the 3rd District and the conservatives there who have fought so hard for our victories of which I’m incredibly grateful.
Seemingly in reference to the infamous Beetlejuice scandal – a September incident where the congresswoman was kicked out of a musical for vaping, being disruptive, and getting a little too intimate with her date – Boebert acknowledged in the video that she had experienced “a pretty difficult” year.
“Personally, this announcement is a fresh start following a pretty difficult year for me and my family,” she said:
I had never been in politics before and I’d never been through a divorce, something I never intended to go through. I’ve made my own personal mistakes and have owned up and apologized for them. It’s tested my faith, my strength, and my abilities both as a mom and a congresswoman. It’s been humbling and challenging, but it’s also given me perspective and helped me grow. I cannot put into words how grateful I am for everyone who has steadfastly stood alongside me in the 3rd District and across America.
Boebert concluded that while she “did not arrive at this decision easily,” a lot of “prayer, a lot of tough conversations, and a lot of perspective have convinced me that this is the best way I can continue to fight for Colorado, for the conservative movement, and for my children’s future and for the future of our great country.”
Colorado’s 4th District is currently represented by Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), who announced last month that he would not be seeking reelection.
The New York Times described the 4th District as “significantly more conservative than the Third,” and noted that “securing the Republican nomination would place Ms. Boebert in a strong position to win in a seat where Mr. Buck earned 60 percent of the vote in 2022.”
In August, weeks before the Beetlejuice incident made headlines, a poll showed Boebert marginally trailing her Democratic challenger in Colorado’s 3rd District.
Following the Beetlejuice incident, Boebert’s Republican primary challenger Jeff Hurd received a surge in support from GOP officials in the state.
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