[ad_1]
Updated at 4:43 pm on Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Republican Congressman Ken Buck is leaving office early. He made the announcement via email on Tuesday.
“It has been an honor to serve the people of Colorado’s 4th District in Congress for the past 9 years,” Buck said in a statement. “I want to thank you for your support and encouragement over the years. Today I announce that I will be leaving Congress at the end of next week. I look forward to remaining involved in our political process, as well as spending more time in Colorado and with my family.”
Speaking to reporters, Buck expressed frustration with the way this Congress has worked. “This place keeps going downhill. And I don’t need to spend my time here.”
Last November, Buck said I would not seek re-election but at the time he indicated that he planned to serve out the remainder of his term. In his email, Buck said his last day in Congress will be March 22. The House will go into a two-week recess the next day.
Buck told CPR News his message to his voters is that he will do the best he can in his final week. And he said he had thought about the timing: to minimize the disruption that a vacant election would cause.
“I leave before one of the breaks to minimize that period of time. They will have the opportunity to fill my seat and I think whoever fills that seat for the next Congress and the rest of this Congress will do a great job,” Buck said.
The announcement didn’t include any details of what Buck plans to do next, but it did give a hint. He said it’s time we talk about how we elect leaders. “I am very convinced of that. “I don’t have an organization to join, I just know in my heart that I want to get involved in this election cycle and work on that issue.”
Federal law requires an election to fill Buck’s seat, with candidates chosen by each political party’s vacancy committees. The power to schedule a vacancy election rests with the governor. On Tuesday, Gov. Jared Polis said he is scheduling the vacancy election for June 25, to coincide with the state primary.
That means voters in Congressional District Four will receive ballots for two legislative races in June: a vacant election to fill Buck’s seat for the rest of the year and a primary race for someone to replace him in the next Congress.
A host of Republicans are running to replace Buck, including incumbent 3rd Congressional District Rep. Lauren Boebert, Logan County Commissioner Jerry Sonnenberg, former radio host Deborah Flora, and state Reps. Richard Holtorf and Mike Lynch.
Winning the vacant election could give a candidate an advantage in the November general election, where he would be the incumbent.
Meanwhile, Buck’s departure threatens to further reduce the Republican majority in the House of Representatives. The current count is 219 Republicans to 213 Democrats, with three seats vacant. California holds vacant election for former Rep. Kevin McCarthy March 19th. If no candidate wins a majority of the votes in that race, a runoff will be held in late May.
In a video provided courtesy of CNN, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he was surprised by Buck’s announcement and looked forward to speaking with him about it. Buck said he gave Johnson a 30-minute notice and will likely speak with him in person later that day.
Buck leaves after a decade in Congress
Buck, a former prosecutor, was first elected to the House in 2014, after narrowly losing the 2010 Senate race to Michael Bennet. He was part of the Tea Party wave and later joined the House Freedom Caucus. He has been known for his strict fiscal conservatism, constantly raising concerns about the country’s growing debt.
But the constitutional conservative, once described as too conservative for Colorado, He has also adopted some positions at odds with the majority of his party.
He voted to certify the 2020 presidential election, arguing that Congress has a limited role in approving the vote. He was one of the eight legislators. vote to impeach former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. He helped bblock Republican Rep. Jim Jordan’s attempt to become Speaker. And Buck has raised doubts about House Republicans’ efforts to impeach President Joe Biden, saying there is simply no evidence.
Among his legislative achievements are the Law banning TikTok on government devices and getting Camp Amache included as part of the National Park System. Buck also forged cross-party alliances, which he used to craft a package of Big Tech Antitrust Legislation which was approved by the House in the last Congress. He also worked on a bipartisan effort to try to prevent lawmakers from buying and selling stocks.
Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse worked with Buck frequently over the years, including antitrust effortsAmache legislation and Dearfield Studies Law. On Tuesday, Neguse said: “I have enjoyed serving with him. He has been a friend and colleague with whom we have partnered on numerous issues that are of importance to Colorado and to Larimer County, particularly northern Colorado.”
Republican Representative Doug Lamborn, who will retire at the end of this termHe said he was very surprised that Buck left at this time, but he wished him the best.
He noted that this will lead to a smaller Republican majority in the House, which “could complicate things.” Republicans will now only be able to lose a maximum of two votes to pass measures without any Democratic support.
The dean of the delegation, Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette, summed up Buck’s service this way: “He is blunt and tells it like he sees it. “I don’t always agree with him on some issues, but I appreciate his faith in the system and his belief in the institution of Congress.”
[ad_2]
Source link