DENVER — U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert took to social media on Wednesday to criticize fellow Republican Colorado Congressman Ken Buck for his early retirement from Congress and said she will not participate in the special election in June.
Buck, who represents Colorado's 4th Congressional District, announced Tuesday he will resign from Congress effective March 22 for his term that ends next January. He had previously said he would not seek reelection in November in the solidly Republican district.
The news set off a scramble among Republicans to run for his seat. The primary candidates include Boebert, who currently represents the state's 3rd Congressional District.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) said he intends to set the date for a special election to fill Buck's seat for June 25, the same day as Colorado's primary election. The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of Buck's term through January.
Boebert slammed Buck's decision to retire as "forcing an unnecessary special election on the same day as the primary election," which she said would confuse voters.
She called Buck's retirement "a swampy backroom deal" to rig the election to fill his seat and said she would focus on the primary election.
"I will not further imperil the already very slim House Republican majority by resigning my current seat and will continue to deliver on my constituents’ priorities while also working hard to earn the votes of the people of Colorado’s 4th District who have made clear they are hungry for a real conservative," she said on social media.
At least two of Boebert's Republican primary rivals, former state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg and conservative commentator Deborah Flora, both said they will pursue their party's special election nomination.
Colorado law requires a special election no less than 85 days and no more than 100 days after an elected position becomes vacant. One candidate from each party will be chosen by a special convention of party members from the district. They can either choose a candidate who is not running to replace Buck or select one of their party's primary candidates.
Regardless of who wins the special election, the next full term will be filled by whoever wins in the general election in November. The winner of the Republican primary will likely win the seat.
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