Lauren Boebert’s Re-Election Chances Take A Big Blow

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The American Muckrakers PAC — a group that went after Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) ahead of his recent loss in the Republican primary for his seat — will be targeting Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) ahead of her June primary. That PAC posted a sexually explicit video showing Cawthorn in a bed with another man. “Years ago, in this video, I was being crass with a friend, trying to be funny. We were acting foolish, and joking. That’s it,” Cawthorn said after that footage circulated.

The group’s targeting of Cawthorn also spotlighted issues such as the two instances when a gun has been found among his belongings at an airport and the potential provision of financial support to a staffer in violation of House rules. The staffer is Stephen Smith, who — among other ties to the Congressman — appeared to live in a house owned by Cawthorn without paying anything for it, per available information. (Apparently, he’s related to Cawthorn.) The group brought up concerns including these in a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics requesting an investigation into Cawthorn, whose numerous scandals also include potential insider trading involving a pro-Trump cryptocurrency. “I think we’re going to go after Lauren Boebert in Colorado in a similar way… I think we’re going to engage in that race pretty quickly,” David B. Wheeler, a co-founder of the PAC, told Insider.

The group already has a website for its effort targeting Boebert: fireboebert.com. Like Cawthorn, Boebert is in her first term, and while in office, she’s occupied herself with cultivating media attention and, more specifically, propping up conspiracy theories. “Please send us any information, pictures, videos, or documents you have on Lauren Boebert or her associates,” fireboebert.com says. “The information must be factual. We will keep your identity confidential and anonymous.” Wheeler indicated to Insider he’d already gotten some “interesting information” regarding Boebert, although he said it’s “certainly not as salacious as some of the Cawthorn stuff.” He said the info regards finances. Boebert was previously revealed to have failed to disclose her husband’s substantial income when initially running for Congress. Boebert also charged thousands of dollars worth of her personal rent and utility expenses to her campaign, although her team claimed that was a mistake and the campaign was reimbursed.

Boebert — also like Cawthorn — has the support of Donald Trump, whose endorsements are hit-or-miss in terms of actually seeming to help propel his favored candidates to victory. For Boebert and Cawthorn, the Republican primaries are providing good opportunities to definitively topple them since the GOP lean of their districts would make relying on a general election challenge from a Democrat for their replacement more difficult. How the midterms will turn out overall remains a relatively open question — Republicans have a slight lead in an average maintained by FiveThirtyEight of polling that asks respondents whether they’d back a Republican or Democrat in their local Congressional race.