U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert won Tuesday's Republican primary in a U.S. House race that she jumped into last year, surviving a scandal over a video of her at a Denver theater and accusations of carpetbagging after fleeing what could have been a tough reelection bid in her current district.
Boebert’s resounding win over four other candidates in the new district across the state from where she lived before showcased her political cachet among Republicans and positions her for a likely easy win in the November general election. It was also a victory for the far-right flank of the House GOP, a group that takes no prisoners, makes no concessions and stays on the attack.
Taking the stage at her election night victory party, Boebert wore a pair of reflective gold sneakers sold by former President Donald Trump and a white “Make America Great Again” hat with his signature across the bill.
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“America will rise again, and I am so excited that you all are here to be a part of it with me,” Boebert said to applause.
Boebert responded to questions about her switch to the 4th District by saying, “While the crops may be slightly different here in CD4, the values are not.”
She promised to fight for policies including shutting down the southern border and also signaled that she intends to continue her combative style.
“A lot of folks criticize my approach on things,” Boebert said, “but I learned very early on in Washington, D.C., that nothing happens without force.”
In two other closely watched Republican contests, Attorney Jeff Hurd won the primary for the 3rd District seat currently held by Boebert, and political consultant and talk radio host Jeff Crank defeated Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams, who was endorsed by Trump, in the 5th District.
Boebert built national hard-line conservative stardom that likely made it easier for her to weather the scandals of the last year, which included the video of her vaping and causing a disturbance at a musical production of “Beetlejuice.”
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On Tuesday she beat a group of more traditional, homegrown primary candidates who had far less name recognition and generally less combative political styles: former state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg; current state Reps. Mike Lynch and Richard Holtorf; and parental rights advocate Deborah Flora.
Sonnenberg congratulated Boebert and pledged to support her, saying, “I look forward to helping her win this seat in November and then being a resource to her on rural issues in this district.”
The 4th District, which sweeps across a wide expanse of ranches, ghost towns and conservative parts of the Denver metro area that make up much of the plains of eastern Colorado, overwhelmingly went for Trump in the 2020 election.
The seat opened up after former Republican Rep. Ken Buck resigned, citing the divisiveness of today's politics and his party's devotion to Trump. In a special election Tuesday to fill the remaining months of Buck’s term, Republican Greg Lopez, a former mayor of the city of Parker, beat a Democrat and third-party candidates.
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