Republicans scramble after Buck resigns
Governor sets special election for June 25, the same day as the primary election
Lauren Boebert is betting on her star power, Richard Holtorf is furious and Jerry Sonnenberg is just continuing to campaign.
U.S. Rep. Ken Buck decided late last year he wouldn’t seek re-election in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, but then announced Tuesday he’s resigning at the end of next week.
Gov. Jared Polis has scheduled a June 25 special election to fill Buck’s seat until the end of the year.
The move throws the crowded primary field into confusion and is especially problematic for 3rd CD Congresswoman Lauren Boebert. She has been campaigning in the 4th CD hoping to win the primary and Buck’s seat in the House and “tweeted” Wednesday morning that she won’t run in the special election, banking on her perceived popularity among conservatives to take the nomination in the primary
While she boasts a multi-million-dollar war chest, many times any of her Republican competitors, Boebert still faces an uphill battle for the nomination in eastern Colorado. In two straw votes at Republican candidate events in northeastern Colorado, Boebert has finished in the middle of the 11-candidate pack, with former state senator and current Logan County Commissioner Jerry Sonnenberg winning the top spot both times.
Whoever the GOP selects for the special election will have an incumbent’s advantage in the primary, which is being held the same day as the special election. Boebert told Business Insider’s Brian Metzger she hoped the party would select someone not running in the primary to run in the special election. That probably won’t happen, however; one GOP insider, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said it wasn’t feasible to send someone “who doesn’t want to be there” to Washington just for six months.
State Rep. Richard Holtorf of Akron, who entered the primary fray early, Wednesday unleashed his fury on the “selfish move by Congressman Buck who has long forgotten about his role as a federal representative and Republican leader in Colorado.” Holtorf issued a scorching condemnation of Buck’s decision, saying the sud
den resignation throws the primary election into confusion.
“The only upside to this decision is that Ken Buck will no longer have the ability to cast a vote for the Democrats or a vote against the will of the good people of the 4th District,” Holtorf said.
Sonnenberg said Buck’s announcement changes nothing for him and his campaign.
“This new vacancy doesn’t change my race, nor my commitment to proving to Republicans voters why I am the strongest conservative voice to serve them in Washington,” Sonnenberg said. “I look forward to earning this nomination and getting to D.C. as soon as possible so that we can secure our border, defend our constitutional rights, and hold Joe Biden and this administration accountable for their repeated failures.”
On the other side of the aisle, Democrat Ike Mccorkle presumes that he’ll be facing Boebert in the November election. In a statement issued Wednesday, Mccorkle said his mission now is solely to defeat Boebert.