WINDSOR, Colo. (AP) — Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert will soon find out if she is. political gambleSuddenly changing congressional districts mid-election in Colorado would cost the GOP or strengthen its position in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Boebert, a far-right activist whose followers reach far beyond Colorado, won by just one. 546 votes In 2022. We face a rematch against the same, well-funded Democrat in 2024, and we suffer a scandal It was at a theater in Denver where he was caught vaping and causing a disturbance to his date. Boebert left the race.

Boebert, an outspoken supporter of presidential candidate Donald Trump, said Democrats were targeting her. He said his exodus would better help Republicans retain the seat.

Boebert later entered the race for Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, a more conservative area of ​​the Great Plains, arguing that her voice was still needed in Congress.

The intense and dramatic Republican primary was the biggest obstacle. Boebert made a maneuver major political threathe dodged carpetbagging accusations and eased the wounds of being fired from a Denver theater. He is a name that almost everyone knows, and with Trump’s support, he sided with the Republicans.

Boebert is now projected to win against Democrat Trisha Calvarese in the district, which supported Trump by nearly 20 percentage points in 2020.

Wearing a “Make America Great Again” baseball cap with presidential candidate Donald Trump’s signature on the bill, Boebert addressed the crowd at a watch party in the northern Colorado city of Windsor just before the polls closed.

“I’ve taken on every swamp creature in Washington, D.C.,” Boebert told the roaring crowd, “but you’re going to send to Congress someone tougher than alligators’ teeth and snakes’ fangs.”

There is some question about whether Boebert’s withdrawal from her old district will be enough for Republicans to hold on to the seat. Democratic candidate Adam Frisch had already racked up a staggering number of fundraisers before Boebert left and was fundraising off his near-success in beating her in 2022.

The goal of Frisch’s campaign was to “stop the dick” by calling Boebert’s style “rage-fun.” Without political obstruction from the congressman, Frisch returned to his politically moderate platform, emphasizing that he would be a voice for rural voters and take a bipartisan approach to policy.

Frisch, a former Aspen councilman and currency trader, still has one of the largest House campaign trunks in the country. He vastly dwarfs the coffers of GOP candidate Jeff Hurd.

It’s unclear how much of a difference this will make. The district still leans red, and Hurd, an attorney, is a more moderate conservative and makes fewer gaffes than his predecessor. Hurd said his goal is to make local headlines rather than national ones. The letter “R” next to your name on the ballot may be sufficient.

Boebert with expected victory in her new region fill a seat Vacated by former Rep. Ken Buck. The congresswoman resigned, citing the Republican Party’s dogged politics and unwavering loyalty to Trump, characteristics that have made Boebert a household name.

In a recording of Buck at a private event, he first appeared Policy“It makes George Santos look like a saint,” the former congressman said. It was Santos expelled from congress last year. To some, Buck’s replacement is another sign that the Republican Party is increasingly falling behind Trump.

Boebert portrayed her hard-nosed politics as broken campaign promises for a series of concessions that impeded the vote to elect Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House.

Boebert supporter Jody Gilloth said at a campaign watch party for the candidate that Boebert represents conservative, rural family values ​​that Colorado should embrace more of.

She shrugged off criticism of Boebert for the discomfort in the theater.

“He’s human, he’s not perfect, and neither am I,” Gilloth said.

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