During an interview with popular host Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show,” former GOP Congressman Ken Buck of Colorado called out what he characterized as brazen lies from the Republican Party. His targets included debunked conspiracy theories insisting there was widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
“I left because I couldn’t tell the lie,” Buck told Stewart, referring to his recent exit from Congress. “The 2020 election wasn’t stolen. The January 6 defendants aren’t political prisoners — on and on. […] I think that there is a leader out there that will unify and help unify America, and it’s somebody who has great morals, somebody who has great leadership skills — a John F. Kennedy.”
Buck was known as an arch-conservative before leaving the House.
Though Buck’s old district is known for leaning heavily Republican, it remains at the forefront of the electoral conversation because Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) is currently trying to take over the seat, which if successful would move her out of a district where she only narrowly won her present term in the 2022 midterm elections.
She is facing some challenges, though. Buck moved up his exit from Congress to a point early enough to trigger a special election, and Republicans quickly made their choice for that contest, the winner of which was set to serve the rest of Buck’s last term — and the pick wasn’t Boebert.
She was effectively blocked even from consideration because she decided to stay in her original Congressional seat while she keeps running in the originally unfolding, regularly scheduled primary ahead of the general elections in November.
That regularly scheduled primary is taking place on the same day as the general election to serve the rest of Buck’s final term. It doesn’t appear as though the Republican pick for that months-long Congressional stint is also running for a full term via that primary process. Still, there are some half a dozen candidates who are running, suggesting the vote will be substantially divided.
