Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., is hopping over to a neighboring congressional district next year to run for re-election to the House. Boebert announced Wednesday that she won’t be running in her native 3rd Congressional District, which she’s represented for two terms, and is instead leaping over to the 4th, where Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., is retiring. It’s a sign of how much she’s made a mess of things in her current district, and it underscores how serving as a MAGA firebrand has limited her versatility as a politician even in what should be friendly territory.
Of course, that wasn’t how Boebert explained her decision. “It’s the right move for me personally, and it’s the right decision for those who support our conservative movement,” she said in a video announcement Wednesday. She didn’t get into how exactly it’s the right thing for the 4th District, where she won’t be moving until next year. But her calculation is straightforward: The 4th District is considerably more conservative than the 3rd, giving her higher chances of winning a race, assuming she prevails in the primary.
Boebert has only herself to blame for the predicament.
In her announcement, Boebert argued that her hand had been forced. She claimed that “Hollywood elites and progressive money groups” were conspiring against her to “buy” the 3rd District. It’s true that Democratic rival Adam Frisch has been pulling in record-breaking amounts of cash for an expected rematch against Boebert (although it’s worth noting that he was also dwarfing her small-dollar donors). Frisch’s strong performance against her last year was a surprise — it was a district that Donald Trump won by 6 points in 2020, and Trump had endorsed her. Boebert has chosen to duck out to avoid what might’ve been shaping up to be a fatal blow.
And Boebert has only herself to blame for the predicament. In her brief time in office, she established herself as one of the most prominent and controversial…
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