(NEW YORK) — Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., announced Wednesday that she will switch congressional districts when she runs for reelection next year after barely eking out a victory in 2022.
Boebert, a House hardliner who made a name for herself as a staunch advocate for gun owner rights, said in a video that she will be running in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District rather than the 3rd Congressional District, which she currently represents. The 4th Congressional District is currently held by Rep. Ken Buck, a Republican who is retiring at the end of his current term. The district leans more Republican than the seat Boebert currently holds.
In a Facebook video, Boebert cast the move as a “fresh start.”
“I cannot put into words how grateful I am for everyone who has steadfastly stood alongside me over the past year and beyond. I am going to do everything in my power to represent the 3rd District well for the remainder of this term as I work to earn the trust of grassroots conservative voters in the 4th District to represent them in 2025,” Boebert wrote in caption accompanying the video.
Still, the Colorado Republican nodded to the headwinds she could face if she were to run for reelection in her current district and the implications for House Republicans’ narrow majority if she were to lose.
“I will not allow dark money that is directed at destroying me personally to steal this seat. It’s not fair to the 3rd District and the conservatives there who have fought so hard for our victories,” she said.
Boebert was already facing a credible primary challenger in the 3rd Congressional District in attorney Jeff Hurd, who had started racking up endorsements from prominent Republicans like former Gov. Bill Owens.
The move comes after she won reelection by about 500 votes against Adam Frisch, a Democrat who is running again in 2024 and has more than tripled her in fundraising so far this cycle.
Frisch responded to Boebert’s announcement in a statement shared with ABC News, in which he said he has “one of the greatest name ID, fundraising, and district-wide relationship advantages for any challenger in the country.”
“From Day 1 of this race, I have been squarely focused on defending rural Colorado’s way of life, and offering common sense solutions to the problems facing the families of Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District,” he said. “My focus will remain the same, and I look forward to bringing these issues with me to Congress in 2024.”
Boebert’s self-styled reputation as a Christian conservative took a hit earlier this year after she was caught on video groping a date at a performance of the musical “Beetlejuice” in Denver. She has since apologized for the incident.
Her move will place her in Colorado’s most Republican district, which Buck won with over 60% of the vote in 2022. However, there is already a crowded field of Republicans running to replace Buck, and Boebert currently lives hundreds of miles from the 4th Congressional District, though she said she plans on moving.
Legally, she can run in any district in Colorado as long as she lives in the state.
ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.
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