Boebert is targeted by rivals during debate about new district
Representative Lauren Boebert, the far-right rabble-rouser, faced off against eight Republican opponents Thursday evening in a debate in the new Colorado district she wants to represent in Congress.
After narrowly winning re-election in Colorado's Third Congressional District against a Democrat in 2022, she is running this year in a much more conservative district, the Fourth. On Thursday evening, Ms. Boebert appeared comfortable voicing fiery rhetoric and embracing her pro-Trump, hard-right positions among similarly conservative colleagues at the debate in Fort Lupton.
“Everyone will talk like a Freedom Caucus member, but there is only one who governs like a Freedom Caucus member,” Ms. Boebert said in her opening statement, adding that she did not expect a “coronation” in her new district and that she I was looking forward to 'earning your vote'.
But Ms. Boebert also faced steady criticism from her rivals over the district switching moved to the other side of the state to improve its chances after a strong primary challenger emerged in the Third District.
State Rep. Mike Lynch suggested Ms. Boebert was a “carpetbagger” after she brought up a drunk driving arrest. forced Mr. Lynch to resign Wednesday as minority leader for Republicans in the state House.
The candidates mostly avoided mentioning what landed Ms. Boebert in their district in the first place: an incident in September in which Ms. Boebert — then in the midst of a divorce from her husband — was caught on a security camera vaping and groping used to be. her date during a performance of the musical 'Beetlejuice'.
Ms. Boebert said during the debate that she needed a “fresh start” after her divorce. “My boys need some freedom from what's going on,” she added. “And this move is the right move for me and for them.”
At one point, candidates were asked to raise their hands if they had ever been arrested. Six of the nine candidates on stage raised their hands to cheers and applause from the audience. Trent Leisy, a Navy veteran and business owner, high-fived Mr. Lynch and Ms. Boebert as their hands were raised.
Ms. Boebert said in that segment that she had only been arrested once failure to appear in court for reckless driving, which she called in the debate 'a simple traffic violation that went unpaid'. But the local news media has reported at least two additional arrests. In one incident in 2015 Ms. Boebert told police officers who arrested her said she “had friends at Fox News” and that the arrest would be national news.
The candidates in the race – 11 in total – are vying to succeed Rep. Ken Buck, the Republican incumbent who announced he would not seek re-election in November. Mr. Buck cited election denial — the widespread belief among many Republicans that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald J. Trump — as part of the reason for his decision, as well as the refusal of many of his Republican colleagues to condemn the January election . August 6, 2021: Attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.
Ms. Boebert, on the other hand, has fervently promoted these false claims about the 2020 election. During Thursday's debate, she was one of a handful of candidates on stage who raised their hands when asked whether the 2020 election was stolen from Mr. Trump.
Colorado's Fourth Congressional District is significantly more conservative than the Third, and Ms. Boebert's move is expected to make it easier for a less divisive Republican to win in her old district. An analysis by the Cook Political Report after Ms. Boebert's district change shows that her old seat has been reached Would lean Republican in the November elections.
And the winner of the primary in her new district is likely to be in a strong position to win a district where Mr. Buck won 60 percent of the vote in 2022. Ms. Boebert narrowly won re-election that year, pulling ahead of her. Democratic opponent, Adam Frisch, with about 500 votes.