From drawing controversy for public behavior that included vaping and singing while in the audience of the musical "Beetlejuice," to the pre-primary arrest of her son for theft, and running in an entirely new district, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., still handily won the Republican nomination for a third term.
Boebert rolled up nearly 44% of the vote, followed by former State Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg with 14.2%, radio talk show host Deborah Flora with 13.6%, and three others with the remaining votes.
Sonnenberg had the endorsements of former House Speaker Frank McNulty, former Senate GOP leader John Cooke, and other legislative leaders. Flora, who had a following from radio, was endorsed by the popular local publication The Gazette. But Boebert had the most important endorsement of all in a Republican primary — Former President Donald Trump.
"And Boebert won tonight but only because it was a six-way primary and she was the only candidate with high name ID and substantial money," former State GOP Chair Dick Wadhams told Newsmax.
When Boebert announced last year she was abandoning the 3rd District — in which she had won reelection by roughly 546 votes in the closest House race anywhere in 2022 — she had roughly $1 million in her campaign kitty.
The congresswoman thereupon announced she would win the 4th District, where Republican Rep. Ken Buck was retiring and which has a 60.3% Republican baseline (compared to a baseline of 52% in the 3rd).
"It's the right move for me personally, and it's the right decision for those who support our conservative movement," Boebert said in a campaign video. "Colorado's 4th District is hungry for an unapologetic defender of freedom with a proven track record of standing strong for conservative principles."
The 4th, Colorado's easternmost U.S. House district, has been in Republican hands all but two years since it was created in 1972. It is unlikely to reject the Republican nominee now, Boebert's turbulence notwithstanding.
Boebert has been outspoken in her opposition to green energy, COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates, sex education, and same-sex marriage. She also backs a non-interventionist foreign policy, although she makes an exception in her backing of Israel.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.