Ken Buck fires back at Lauren Boebert's "ridiculous" accusations over early retirement
Washington DC - Colorado Congressman Ken Buck has responded after fellow Representative Lauren Boebert accused him of retiring early to harm her chances of getting re-elected.
In an interview with The Colorado Sun on Thursday, he described her claim as "ridiculous" and insisted he has no invested interest in who wins.
"I'm not giving anybody an advantage or disadvantage," he explained, noting that he has refused to answer questions about Boebert's personal life.
"I have done my very best to stay out of this primary election."
Buck, who was already expected to resign from representing Colorado's 4th district by the end of the year, surprised his party on Tuesday when he announced he would "depart Congress by the end of next week."
After his announcement, state Governor Jared Polis revealed plans to hold a special election to fill the spot on June 25, which presents a huge problem for Boebert and other Republican candidates running for the seat, as the special election will be set on the same date as the primaries.
The following day, Boebert, who is running for his district after abandoning her 3rd district, shared a video to her supporters, where she accused her state's Republican Party of "[trying] to do everything that they can to stop my candidacy, to rig the election in Colorado," and Buck of trying to "rig" the election.
The MAGA Republican is now even fundraising on the idea that Buck is trying to sabotage her.
Lauren Boebert asks for donations to fight the "uniparty"
After she made the claims in the video, Boebert shared a post on X, asking for donations from her supporters to fight the "uniparty" – a term used by far-right Republicans to describe lawmakers or groups that aren't extreme enough.
In response, Buck slammed her fundraising tactic as "fundamentally unfair" and pointed out that the decision to schedule the votes on the same day was actually done so to limit the cost to taxpayers, not to stop Boebert.
Boebert has vowed in defiance not to run in the special election, which would require her to step down from her current seat representing the 3rd district and, instead, continue her fight to win the primaries.
Cover photo: Collage: Anna Moneymaker / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP & IMAGO / ZUMA Wire