Republican Lauren Boebert shook up the Colorado political establishment last December when she decided not to run for reelection in her current seat, and instead moved across the state to run in this safer GOP seat. Her move came after she won reelection by a whisker in 2022, and at a time when she was being outraised by her Democratic opponent and trying to fend off a serious primary challenge.
Still, it’s a bet that has paid off, so far. Boebert, who moved with a lot of name recognition and campaign cash, had a strong win in a crowded primary field in CD4.
Boebert is a hard right lawmaker. She is a strong Trump supporter and has been part of the right wing House Freedom Caucus. She made a name for herself in Congress for her actions, from being a holdout in the Kevin McCarthy Speaker of the House fight to having her impeachment articles against President Biden killed in committee to her behavior outside of Congress, like getting kicked out of a production of Beetlejuice and a messy divorce.
During her two terms in office she has gotten one bill passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. It transfers the rest of the Pueblo Chemical Depot land to the community for redevelopment — a move also asked for by the state’s Democratic senators. Boebert reversed course on earmarks, asking for them in her second term in office, but voted against the final spending bills that included them. Many of the items she claims credit for passed in bills Boebert ultimately voted against.
She currently serves on the House Oversight Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee and she has said she’d like to remain on those committees in the next Congress.
CPR News is part of Voter Voices, a statewide effort to ask Coloradans what issues matter most to them in this election. We used those responses to develop the questionnaire CPR sent to major party candidates.
Lauren Boebert on the economy and cost of living
What would you do, as a member of Congress, to address the cost of housing?
The first priority needs to be stopping reckless government spending. The trillions of dollars spent led to record-highs for inflation, which led to skyrocketing interest rates and rising rent costs that priced people out of their homes. When we get our spending under control, Americans will be able to live comfortably again. Outside of that, I'm supportive of creative ideas to support affordable housing like Rep. Joe Neguse's bill that I've co-sponsored to create housing options on U.S. Forest lands.
Context: Legislative uncertainty leads to new push for workforce housing project on U.S. Forest Service land in Steamboat (Steamboat Today)
What can Congress do to address inflation, particularly around the cost of food?
Stop spending. It's not complicated. Beyond that, we can unleash our oil and gas producers to create more energy options. That will drive down fuel costs which will have a positive impact on the entire supply chain, leading to lower food costs. We also need to do more to support our Colorado ranchers and farmers, who feed the world and are getting crushed by unfair competition in the global marketplace.
What are your views on raising tariffs on foreign goods?
I think it's time for us to explore every option when it comes to supporting our American manufacturing and farming industries. I co-sponsored a resolution condemning the unfair practices currently being used by Mexico to hoard water from the Rio Grande, which negatively impacts our Colorado ranchers and farmers. I'm very open to working with President Trump to take more concrete action in support of American workers.
Lauren Boebert on democracy and good governance
What are your top three ideas for reforms to make Congress work better?
I spearheaded critical reforms with some of my colleagues in the House Freedom Caucus and will continue to advocate for them in 2025. These include passing 12 separate appropriations bills instead of shoving an omnibus spending package down the throats of the American people every December. I also fought to allow Members at least 72 hours to read a bill before having to vote on it, which is just a common sense reform. Finally, we enacted single subject legislation. Nancy Pelosi used to come up with cute names for bills and then cram a bunch of stuff into them that had nothing to do with the actual bill name.
Context: Kevin McCarthy’s Concessions: Here’s What He Gave Up To Win House Speakership (Forbes)
Context: Congress passes funding bill set to expire in December, avoids government shutdown (CPR News)
If control of the federal government remains divided between the parties after the election, how do you plan to be effective for your district?
I've grown as an effective legislator and shown I can work across the aisle to get things done, like working with our Democrat Senators to get the Pueblo Jobs Act signed into law. We also collaborated on a number of Community Project Funding requests that led to tens of millions of dollars coming back to my district to fund important water and infrastructure projects. I'll also be the senior Republican member of our state's delegation, which will put me in a stronger position to advocate for my district no matter what party controls Congress.
There is an initiative on Colorado’s ballot to do away with party primaries and institute ranked choice voting. How will you vote on it and why?
I will be voting no. The proposal makes voting more complicated, will inevitably give some people more votes than others, will delay election results, and will leave many Coloradans without a choice. I'm completely opposed to this scheme to take away the voices of Coloradans.
Do you trust the current electoral system in Colorado? What about the rest of the country?
There are a number of things we can do to improve election integrity in Colorado, including the cleaning and maintenance of our voter rolls as well as increasing the number of participating poll workers and poll watchers. The SAVE Act, which the House has passed, should be passed through the Senate and into law to help clean up our voter rolls and prevent illegals from voting in federal elections. I'll always prefer one-day, in-person voting, but that's not our system in Colorado right now. We have great county clerks across Colorado, like Rhonda Braun in Elbert County, who do a good job of reporting results in a timely manner.
Lauren Boebert on immigration
How should the U.S. Congress address current and future waves of people crossing at the border?
Congress should pass my Build The Wall and Deport Them All Act, which would bring back President Trump's successful border security policies. H.R. 2, which the House has passed, also has a lot of great policies to secure the border and stop the invasion.
Context: Trump vs. Biden on immigration: 12 charts comparing U.S. border security (Washington Post)
Name one aspect of the current legal immigration system the U.S. Congress should reform or abolish, and why?
Catch and release needs to end immediately. Four members of the dangerous Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua were detained at the border and thanks to the Biden-Harris administration, they were released and wound up committing violent crimes in Colorado. Catch and release deaths and violence occur all the time. The American people need a secure border, not a lawless administration that allows violent criminals to continue to be caught and released into our communities.
Context: What arrests show about Tren de Aragua’s alleged presence in Aurora apartments (Denverite)
Context: Background on catch and release (Politifact)
What should the U.S. do about people who have lived in the country for a long time without documentation, including so-called Dreamers?
Illegal aliens that are in America should be deported. DACA is an unlawful amnesty program that was never authorized by Congress. Even Obama said at least 22 times that he didn't have the authority to unilaterally change immigration policy and to create this program. Illegal immigration and the Biden-Harris Regime's open borders are allowing crime to run rampant in our communities and literally killing our children through violence and deadly drugs like fentanyl. This madness must end.
Context: Immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born Americans, studies find (NPR)
Lauren Boebert on climate and natural resources
What is the most pressing environmental or natural resource issue facing Colorado?
Water and the responsible use and storage of this resource is one of my top priorities and should be a priority for the entire state.
What are the most urgent steps the country should take to address climate change, if any?
Wildfires are bad for the environment. NASA estimates that one large fire emits more pollution in a few days than all the cars in Colorado emit in an entire year. In recent years, Denver registered the worst air quality in the WORLD due to fire pollution. Wildfire smoke is also responsible for serious disorders, including eye and respiratory tract infections, reduced lung function, bronchitis, exacerbation of asthma, and even premature death.
Democrats in Congress and extremist environmentalists scream about climate change and carbon emissions but then sue to stop the very projects that would reduce wildfires and improve the environment. They should also support responsible oil and gas production if they actually care about reducing emissions as advances in technology and best practices for oil and gas are the reason why the U.S. has led the world in emissions reductions over the last several years.
Should the federal government take steps to limit new oil and gas production on public lands?
Absolutely not. The Obama and Biden Regimes both did this and each time their anti-energy actions helped cause gas prices to soar which exacerbated economic downturns and recessions.
