Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) was criticized for her “unabashed seat shopping” after her announcement earlier this week that she would be leaving her current district to run for re-election in a more GOP-friendly one.
“Today I’m announcing my candidacy for the 2024 Republican nomination to represent Colorado’s 4th Congressional District. It’s the right move for me personally and it’s the right decision for those who support our conservative movement,” Boebert said in a Facebook video Wednesday. “Colorado’s 4th District is hungry for an unapologetic defender of freedom with a proven track record of standing strong for conservative principles.”
But, Megan Schrader, the opinion editor of The Denver Post, one of Colorado’s largest newspapers, is not buying Boebert’s explanation.
Schrader lambasted the lawmaker for abandoning the 3rd district for the 4th because she accomplished nothing in Congress, except bring “embarrassment” to her district and did not want to risk losing her seat in a primary or in a rematch with Democrat Adam Frisch, who she narrowly defeated in 2022.
“Rep. Lauren Boebert’s decision to cut and run for Congress on the other side of Colorado is a gross political attempt to retain office at all costs,” Schrader wrote. “By electing to run in eastern Colorado’s Congressional District 4, instead of western Colorado’s District 3, Boebert dodges both a tough primary from Jeff Hurd and a brutal general election against Adam Frisch.”
Since her near defeat to Frisch in 2022, Schrader wrote that Boebert “has accomplished little for her district except embarrassing her constituents” with public scandals.
“Facing such daunting prospects, Boebert did what any unabashed person would do, abandon her constituents to seek office in another community where the incumbent has retired and the competition isn’t nearly as stiff,” Schrader added.
If Boebert wins the GOP nomination in Colorado’s solid red 4th congressional district, she will replace Republican Rep. Ken Buck who announced in November that he will not be seeking re-election.
