Lauren Boebert

In December 2019, Boebert announced her candidacy for Colorado's 3rd congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in the 2020 elections, beginning with a challenge to incumbent Scott Tipton in the Republican primary.[17] During her campaign, Boebert criticized Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other members of "The Squad", positioning herself as a conservative alternative to Ocasio-Cortez.[18][19][20] Seth Masket, a political science professor at the University of Denver, suggested that Boebert wanted to motivate Republican voters to participate in the primary during a slow election cycle by stirring up their anger at Ocasio-Cortez and others.[18]

Boebert criticized Tipton's voting record, which she said did not reflect the 3rd district.[21] Before the primary, President Donald Trump endorsed Tipton. During the campaign, Boebert characterized Tipton as unsupportive of Trump.[18] She accused Tipton of supporting amnesty for undocumented immigrants by voting for H.R. 5038, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019, saying that the act has a provision that leads to citizenship and also provides funding to undocumented farm workers for housing.[22] Boebert criticized Tipton's efforts on funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, saying that he did not fight hard enough for more money for the program, which ran out of money within two weeks.[23] In her campaign against Tipton, Boebert raised just over $150,000 through the June 30 primary.[24]

In a May 2020 interview on a QAnon-supporting web show, Boebert said she was "very familiar with" the conspiracy theory: "Everything I've heard of Q, I hope that this is real because it only means America is getting stronger and better."[25][26][27][28] QAnon, which the FBI has classified as a domestic terrorism threat and which has been called a cult, is a far-right conspiracy network.[29][30] On July 6, 2020, Boebert said of QAnon, "I'm not a follower. QAnon is a lot of things to different people. I was very vague in what I said before. I'm not into conspiracies. I'm into freedom and the Constitution of the United States of America. I'm not a follower".[4][31]

In what Politico described as a "stunning upset",[32] Boebert won the Republican nomination on June 30, 2020, with 54.6% of the vote.[33] She was the first primary challenger to defeat a sitting U.S. Representative in Colorado in 48 years, since Democratic Representative Wayne Aspinall lost to Alan Merson.[34][35] Boebert has pledged to join the Freedom Caucus when she takes her seat in the House.[21]

Boebert faced Democratic former state representative Diane Mitsch Bush, a retired sociology professor from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, in the November general election. Boebert said that she believed Mitsch Bush's "platform is more government control" and that Mitsch Bush had a "socialist agenda".[34] In late July, Boebert was considered the front-runner.[8] A survey taken in September and paid for by Michael Bloomberg's Democratic-leaning House Majority PAC had Mitsch Bush ahead by one percentage point.[36] On November 3, Boebert defeated Mitsch Bush, 51.27% to 45.41%. Boebert raised $2.4 million and Mitsch Bush $4.2 million.[37] Republican groups spent more than $5 million. Democratic groups spent nearly $4 million.[37] Boebert focused her general election campaign on gun rights, energy, and the Constitution.[38][39]

On January 3, 2021, Boebert was sworn in as a member of the 117th United States Congress representing Colorado's 3rd congressional district.[40] She was assigned to the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Budget.[41] Boebert is a member of the Freedom Caucus and the Second Amendment Caucus.[42][43]

On January 1, 2021, Boebert wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a letter that was signed by other members of Congress and members-elect, asking that the 1967 law that exempts members of Congress from a Capitol Hill ban on firearms remain in place, allowing them to continue to carry guns. In November 2020, Boebert said she intended to carry a firearm while working in Washington, D.C. She gathered the signatures of 82 other members, including Dan Crenshaw, Jim Jordan, Mo Brooks, Markwayne Mullin, and members-elect such as Victoria Spartz and Yvette Herrell. After Pelosi issued the new set of rules, the 1967 exemption remained in the House rules.[44]

On January 5, as Boebert was walking through the newly installed Capitol Hill metal detectors, they went off and she refused a bag check. She then entered the Capitol. She did the same on January 6, refusing to stop for a wand check after she set off the metal detector. Boebert called the metal detectors "just another political stunt by Speaker Pelosi."[45][46] A New York Times profile of Boebert characterized her actions as "a made-for-Twitter moment that delighted the far right". The article said that although she had only been in Congress for a few days, she has "already arranged several episodes that showcased her brand of far-right defiance as a conspiracy theorist" and that she "represents an incoming faction of the party for whom breaking the rules—and gaining notoriety for doing it—is exactly the point."[47]

On January 5, the day before the storming of the United States Capitol, Boebert tweeted, "Remember these next 48 hours. These are some of the most important days in American history."[48] On January 6, in the hours before the Capitol was attacked, Boebert tweeted, "Today is 1776," a reference to the American Revolutionary War.[49] During the counting of the Electoral College votes, Boebert objected to counting Arizona's votes in a speech to the joint session of Congress. She said, "The members who stand here today and accept the results of this concentrated, coordinated, partisan effort by Democrats—where every fraudulent vote canceled out the vote of an honest American—have sided with the extremist left."[50]

Democratic politicians in Colorado accused Boebert and her colleague Doug Lamborn of "helping incite violence" during the January 6 storming of the United States Capitol.[51][52] While the Capitol was being stormed, Boebert posted information on Twitter about the police response and the location of members, including that Speaker Nancy Pelosi had left the chamber; she has faced calls to resign for endangering members' safety.[53][54][55] On January 13, 2021, Twitter blocked Boebert's account until after January 20 because she had violated Twitter's rules.[56] Hours later, Twitter unblocked Boebert's account, saying its staff "took the incorrect enforcement action."[57]

Boebert's communications director resigned on January 16 in response to the events of January 6.[58] Later that month, Parkland school shooting survivor and gun control activist David Hogg called Boebert and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene "threats" to the Capitol. Boebert responded by calling Hogg a "child", adding, "We all saw how tough you were when questioned face to face", in an apparent reference to a 2019 incident in which Greene confronted Hogg about gun rights and called him a "coward."[59][60][61]

During her 2020 campaign, Boebert pledged that, if elected to the House, she will not support any federal budget that results in additional debt.[62] She supports a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.[63] This commitment does not extend to tax rates.[64]

Boebert has advocated eliminating the U.S. Department of Education.[65][62]

She opposes the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which would elect the president by popular vote.[66] Boebert has stated that she gathered the second-highest number of signatures in support of a proposed referendum to overturn a Colorado law that permitted the state to join the Compact.[32]

She supports an "all-of-above energy" policy, which refers to developing and using a combination of resources to meet energy demand. The resources would include nonrenewable resources (e.g., crude oil) and renewable resources (e.g., solar).[67]

Boebert opposes the Green New Deal. She claimed the plan would cost $93 trillion, a figure disputed by Factcheck.org,[68] and lead to bankruptcy for the U.S.[69]

Boebert is a gun-rights advocate, and opposes expanding gun control regulations.[70]

In September 2019, Boebert became involved in gun-rights activism by challenging Beto O'Rourke at an Aurora town hall meeting during his 2020 presidential campaign over his proposal for a gun buyback program, saying, "I was one of the gun owning Americans who heard you speak regarding your 'Hell yes I'm going to take your AR-15s and AK-47s. Well, I'm here to say hell no you're not.'".[71] Later that month, she opposed a gun control measure at a meeting of the Aspen City Council.[72]

In November 2020, Boebert said she planned to carry a gun while working as a congresswoman on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.[16][73] In January 2021, she produced a viral digital ad proclaiming her right to carry a Glock on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol and in the streets of D.C. The ad shows Boebert strapping a Glock to her hip before embarking on a walk through Capitol Hill, near federal buildings and through alleys.[74] She opposes Colorado's red flag law, which the Colorado General Assembly passed in 2019.[13][66] She was one of the organizers of the "We Will Not Comply!" rally in December 2019, at which the American Patriots Three Percent militia, affiliated with Three Percenters, provided security.[75]

Boebert has called for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.[76] She does not support a single-payer healthcare system, saying it would put small businesses like hers out of business because of the prohibitive cost.[77]

Boebert supports the construction of a Mexico–United States border wall and opposes giving amnesty to undocumented immigrants residing in the United States.[62]

She opposes abortion,[66] comprehensive sex education, and federal funding of Planned Parenthood.[66]