Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert swaps congressional districts as she faces tight reelection campaign

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert will not seek reelection in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District and will instead run for the state’s 4th Congressional District seat, the second-term congresswoman announced Wednesday.

Rather than mount a rematch campaign against Democratic challenger Adam Frisch in what likely would’ve been one of the most watched and tightly contested House races in the country, Boebert will now run for the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, who announced in November he would not seek a sixth term.

"I did not arrive at this decision easily,” Boebert said in a news release announcing the decision. “A lot of prayer, a lot of tough conversations, and a lot of perspective have convinced me this is the best way I can continue to fight for Colorado, for the conservative movement, for my kids’ future, and for the future of this great country.”

Boebert’s contest against Frisch drew national attention to Pueblo on Election Day 2022. She narrowly bested the Democrat from Aspen by just 546 votes in the strong Republican-leaning district that encompasses Pueblo and the Western Slope.

Frisch has also far outraised Boebert throughout his 2024 campaign.

The 3^rd District holds a nine-point Republican advantage, which increased after redistricted maps were finalized in 2021, but Colorado’s 4^th District is even redder with a 27-point Republican advantage, bolstering Boebert's election chances.

House of Representatives members do not need to live in the district they represent.

“Professionally, Colorado’s 4th District is hungry for an unapologetic defender of freedom with a proven track record of standing strong for conservative principles. I love Colorado’s 3rd District and I will continue working as hard as I can for the remainder of my term to be a great Representative for the district,” Boebert said in the release.

"But I also spent years living on the Front Range and years representing Rural America. The 3rd and the 4th Congressional Districts comprise nearly 85% of Colorado’s footprint and have less than 20 people per square mile. Rural America deserves a strong voice that fights for their freedoms.”

In the release, Boebert stated that her move to the 4^th District will help “stop Hollywood elites and national progressive groups from buying the 3rd District.”

“They aren’t pouring millions into the 3rd District based on policy differences, they are pouring it in because they know what a threat I am to their liberal agenda,” she said. “I will not allow dark-money that is directed at destroying me 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.”

State Democratic Party chair calls Boebert's move 'cowardly'

In a news release Wednesday evening, Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib called Boebert's decision "cowardly."

"The good people of Western and Southern Colorado didn’t wait for an election to beat Lauren Boebert — we scared her straight and chased her out of her own district. With this carpetbagging move, Lauren Boebert has shown herself to be everything she claims she isn’t: a typical swampy politician looking for a reason to call Washington D.C. home. She’s a loser in CD3, and she’ll be a loser in CD4 — Coloradans won’t buy her bulls--- in 2024," Murib said in the statement.

“Colorado Democrats launched The 546 Project, our unprecedented year-round campaign in Western and Southern Colorado, to make sure that rural Colorado is represented by someone committed to protecting our outdoor spaces, expanding health care, and treating people right – not hurting our farmers and ranchers with bad policies and foolish trade wars, or selling our public lands off to the highest bidders. We look forward to this fight.”

Boebert will join a crowded field in the 4th District

Buck, the conservative Republican who represents much of Colorado’s eastern plains, announced Nov. 1 he would not seek a sixth term in Congress and cited those in his party who refuse to accept the results of the 2020 presidential election and to condemn the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, the Associated Press reported.

In running for Buck's soon-to-be-vacated seat, Boebert joins a crowded field that includes state Rep. Richard Holtorf of Akron, Conservative radio host Deborah Flora, former state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg of Sterling, and former state Sen. Ted Harvey of Highlands Ranch, according to the Colorado Sun.

Chieftain Editor Zach Hillstrom can be reached at zhillstrom@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter, at @ZachHillstrom. Support local news, subscribe to the Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Why Lauren Boebert is switching congressional districts