'Selfish' Lauren Boebert slammed as 'carpetbagger' in new House district: 'Deserting her people'
In recent years, Colorado has become increasingly Democrat-friendly. The state has a two-term Democratic governor (Jared Polis) and two Democratic U.S. senators (John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennett), and Colorado hasn't gone GOP in a presidential election since George W. Bush carried it in 2004.
Yet parts of Colorado are still quite conservative, including the largely rural 4th Congressional District — where far-right Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) is seeking reelection. Boebert is presently serving in Colorado's 3rd Congressional District, but she has decided that her chances of winning a third term are better in the 4th.
Between an aggressive GOP primary challenge from attorney Jeff Hurd and the possibility of going up against Democrat Adam Frisch in the general election (Frisch almost defeated her in 2022), the far-right MAGA congresswoman decided she would be better off changing districts. Colorado's 3rd Congressional District is conservative, but the 4th is even more conservative.
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In an article published by The Independent on January 12, reporter Sheila Flynn examines the challenges Boebert will face seeking the GOP nomination in her new district. Boebert is now running for the seat presently occupied by Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colorado), who decided against seeking reelection.
Boebert's new district, Flynn reports, is "filled with ultra-conservatives as averse to outlandish behavior as they are to brash outsiders" — and some of them are unreceptive to her.
Independent voter and 4th resident Randy Wallace told The Independent, "I won’t vote for her because of who she is and what she has done."
A Republican organizer in the 4th was equally critical of Boebert, telling The Independent, "We're not fans of people that seek power for power's sake.… There's already a lot of candidates that we had (in the constituency) for a very long time that are well qualified. And then, this just naked power-seeking behavior to save the seat, because she gave away a plus-nine Republican seat, doesn't really sit well. You might be shocked at how many people are not happy about it.… A lot of people tell me they think it's very selfish."
READ MORE: Lauren Boebert sidesteps daunting reelection hurdles by switching districts
One of the Republicans Boebert is competing with in the 4th is Colorado State Rep. Richard Holtorf, who is slamming her as an opportunist.
Holtorf told The Independent, "The first thing that came to mind was carpetbagger — 100 per cent she's a carpetbagger…. The next thing that came to mind is: She's a deserter. She's deserting her people out of political expediency."
But according to Colorado State University political science professor Kyle Saunders, Boebert isn't necessarily doomed in the 4th — especially if former President Donald Trump endorsees her in the primary.
"Let's say Trump is the Republican nominee and endorses Lauren Boebert," Saunders told The Independent. "All it takes is one mention — and all the free media that Donald Trump gets, all of a sudden Lauren Boebert gets. I don't know that that's going to happen, but that's a scenario that seems plausible."
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