Boebert Quits Race for Current Seat, Will Seek Reelection in GOP-Friendly District

WASHINGTON — Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., said Wednesday she is no longer seeking reelection to her current congressional seat and will instead run for office in the more Republican-friendly 4th Congressional District.

In a nearly five-minute video posted on her X and Facebook pages, Boebert says she did not arrive at the decision to switch easily.

But, she adds, “a lot of prayer, a lot of tough conversations and a lot of perspective … convinced me that this is the best way I can continue to fight for Colorado for the conservative movement … for my children’s future and the future of our great country.”

“It’s the right move for me personally and the right decision for those who support our conservative movement,” Boebert says at another point in the video.

Boebert, a former businesswoman who owned Shooters Grill, a restaurant in Rifle, Colorado, was elected to represent the state’s 3rd Congressional District in 2020.

Running primarily as a gun-rights advocate, Boebert pulled off a shocking upset in that race, handily defeating incumbent Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Colo., in a primary in which she garnered 54.6% of the vote to his 45.2%.

She later went on to defeat Democratic candidate Diane Mitsch Bush, a former state representative, 51.27% to 45.41%.

Once in Congress, Boebert became affiliated with the conservative Republican Study Committee, the hard-right House Freedom Caucus — of which she became the communications chair in January 2022 — and the pro-gun Second Amendment Caucus.

Though she won reelection in 2022, her victory over former Aspen City Council member Adam Frisch was by the slimmest of margins — just 546 votes.

Frisch will be running against her again in 2024, as will several Republicans, including Russ Andrews, a financial advisor, Jeffrey Hurd, an attorney and Curtis McCrackin, a real estate construction executive.

According to the Colorado Sun newspaper, the 3rd Congressional District leans 9 percentage points in favor of Republicans compared to the 27 percentage-point advantage the GOP has in the 4th District.

Last month, the 4th District’s current representative, Ken Buck, announced he wouldn’t be seeking reelection in 2024.

In her video, Boebert says her announcement “is a fresh start following a pretty difficult year for me and my family.”

In May, she filed for divorce from her husband Jayson, to whom she had been married for 18 years and with whom she has four sons, the oldest of which became a father himself this year at the age of 18.

In September, Boebert was caught on a surveillance camera vaping and appearing to rub her date’s crotch while he fondled her breasts during a theater performance of “Beetlejuice.”

Both were summarily kicked out of the theater, and Boebert has repeatedly apologized for the incident.

“I had never been in politics before and I’ve never been through a divorce, something I never intended to go through,” Boebert says in her video. “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,” she said.

Although she calls the relationships she’s cultivated in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District “cherished and unbreakable” and thanks those supporters there who continue to “steadfastly” stand alongside her, Boebert also appears to concede she couldn’t win in the district this time around.

“2024 is going to be tough,” she said. “We cannot lose the 3rd District and Colorado’s 4th District is hungry for an unapologetic defender of freedom with a proven track record of standing strong for conservative principles.

“We have to protect our majority in the House, win the Senate and then win the presidency. President Trump has made it very clear that when we take back the White House, he needs our conservative voices heard loud and clear,” Boebert said.

Vowing to be a “strong voice” for rural America, Boebert went on to accuse “Aspen donors, billionaire George Soros, and Hollywood actors” of trying to “buy” the 3rd Congressional District seat in 2024.

“Well, they can pound sand,” she said. “We aren’t going to give them that opportunity. Republicans will hold the 3rd District and I’ll proudly represent the 4th District and Republicans will be stronger for it.”

Boebert does not reside in the 4th Congressional District and there’s no requirement that she do so.

According to Article 1 Section 2 of the Constitution, all one needs to qualify to run for Congress is to be at least 25 years old, be a United States citizen for seven years, and live in the state from which they are elected at the time of the election.

Boebert nevertheless says she will be moving to the 4th Congressional District in 2024, and “will take my conservative fight directly to” the voters that live there.

“The future of our country is on the line,” Boebert said. “I’m going to continue to fight every day to secure the border, put a stop to Bidenomics and reduce inflation, increase water storage, support ranchers and farmers, responsibly develop American energy and minerals, stop wokeism and get our country back on track.”

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