Lauren Boebert Gets Put in a Terrible Position

Representative Lauren Boebert faces a tricky decision following the surprise announcement that Representative Ken Buck of Colorado will be retiring next week, months earlier than he initially planned.

Buck, a Republican who has represented Colorado's 4th District since 2015, had previously announced plans to retire from the House of Representatives at the end of his current term in January. Boebert, who has represented the state's 3rd District since 2021, announced in December that she would be seeking the 2024 GOP nomination for Buck's district instead of her current one after concerns mounted about her reelection odds there.

However, on Tuesday afternoon Buck made the shock announcement that he had accelerated his retirement plans considerably, and would now be departing office at the end of next week. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson told reporters that this news came as a surprise to him. He will now be overseeing a remarkably slim GOP majority in the chamber, 218-213 until a special election is held to fill Buck's seat, as is required by Colorado law for vacancies more than 90 days before a general election.

Boebert also faces a tough decision now about whether to stay the current course, pursue the GOP nomination, and contend for the seat in the general election, or enter the special election. As highlighted by X user Aaron Fritschner and former GOP congressman Adam Kinzinger, if Boebert were to enter the special election, she would have to give up her current seat in the 3rd District, creating a new seat vacancy requiring another special election, and run the risk that she might lose after doing so.

Newsweek reached out to Boebert's office via email on Tuesday evening for comment.

"By resigning early, Ken Buck is giving an advantage to anyone but Lauren Boebert," Kinzinger wrote. "She cannot run in the special election since she already occupies a seat, so another person will be elected to serve out the term, and it won't be Lauren. Smart."

"Ken Buck represents CO-4; Lauren Boebert, who represents CO-3, is running to replace him," Fritschner wrote. "If Boebert wins a special election to replace Buck she'll have to resign CO-3, creating a new vacancy. But if she doesn't run in the special she risks losing her chance to remain in Congress."

Were Boebert to stay the current course, she would run into the general electoral trend that incumbents are heavily favored to win reelection, no matter how little time they have served in office. The congresswoman's attempt to win the 4th District nomination has also struggled, with voters there regularly expressing displeasure with her personal scandals and chastising her district move as opportunistic while she says the move is more than politically motivated.