Republican Colorado congresswoman Lauren Bobert has received a boost in her bid to eventually take over Ken Buck’s 4th congressional district.
On Saturday, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold confirmed that the June 25 special election, which was triggered after Buck said he would be leaving office on March 22 and not the end of his term as previously announced, will appear on a single ballot, but it will appear after the GOP primary taking place the same day.
Boebert is not in the running to be the Republican candidate in the special election to replace Buck for the remainder of the term, as she would have had to also leave her 3rd Congressional seat early to do so.
Instead, Boebert will try to win the more crowded Republican primary for the seat, which will be held on the same day as the special election. The winner of the special election, presuming it is a Republican, will also be competing in the June 25 GOP primary for Colorado’s 4th District.
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With the GOP primary confirmed to be on the June 25 ballots ahead of the special election, Boebert could potentially reap benefits, or avoid potentially outcomes which may hinder her election hopes in November.
If the special election was first on the ballot, where Boebert’s name will not be featured, voters in Colorado could have chosen one candidate, and then opted to choose the same candidate again in the primary, where Boebert is taking part.
There is also the chance that people would have only voted in the special election if it was first on the ballot, and not go on to back a candidate in the primary race.
As previously noted by Colorado-based 9News anchor Kyle Clark on X, formerly Twitter: “Best case scenario for Boebert is probably if it’s a single ballot with the GOP primary listed first.
“Otherwise, GOP voters may select their candidate in the special election (not her) and skip the GOP primary or vote for the same person in both.”
Boebert’s office has been contacted by Newsweek for comment via email.
Republican political consultant Ryan Lynch said that whoever Republican voters back in the Colorado special election could easily also win the primary race.
“What’s the likelihood of whomever is on that special election ballot, is then also elected in the primary? I think it’s pretty good,” Lynch told CPR News, adding that for two different Republicans to win would “essentially mean people are voting for one Republican and against the same Republican on a different ballot at the same time.”
A Kaplan Strategies poll in February showed Boebert with a clear lead in the primary (32 percent), followed by state representative Mike Lynch (7 percent), with the remaining six candidates not getting more than 3 percent.
While confirming that she would not resign her seat to take part in the special election, Boebert accused Buck’s early resignation announcement was part of an establishment attempt to have her removed from office.
“The establishment concocted a swampy backroom deal to try to rig an election I’m winning by 25 points,” Boebert posted on X.
“Forcing an unnecessary Special Election on the same day as the Primary Election will confuse voters, result in a lameduck Congressman on day one, and leave the 4th District with no representation for more than three months. The 4th District deserves better.”
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.