Representative Lauren Boebert’s attempts to highlight her congressional track record may have unintentionally damaged her reelection campaign.
Fending off criticism Thursday night during a Republican debate for Colorado District 4 representative hopefuls, Boebert attempted to draw attention to her work in the House—but ended up having to admit to her minimal accomplishments.
“For Ms. Boebert, how many bills did you prime-sponsor … in the U.S. Congress that actually were signed by the president of the United States?” asked state Representative Richard Holtorf, noting that “anybody can put their name on a bill after it passes” and become a co-sponsor.
Boebert immediately attempted to dodge the question, hitting the local conservative and primary competitor for having a “failing Liberty score,” a measure of a conservative’s policy stances.
“Would you like to answer the question, or would you like to talk about Liberty scores?” pressed Holtorf. “You can answer the question, ma’am, it’s OK. I asked a very specific question, please answer it.”
“I certainly will. One of my favorite pieces of legislation that has been signed into law is my Pueblo Jobs Act that creates at least 1,000 jobs in Pueblo, Colorado,” Boebert said, not revealing that that is actually the only bill she’s prime-sponsored that has become law.
“But there are also many other pieces of legislation that I’ve passed through the House—” she continued, before getting cut off by Holtorf, who clarified that “it doesn’t matter if it’s passed through the House. If the president doesn’t sign it, ma’am, then it doesn’t get passed.”
But the debate moderators gave Boebert one more chance to elucidate her congressional scorecard after her speaking time ran out.
“So my Pueblo Jobs Act—” she started, before the moderator insisted on a number.
“That is one,” Boebert finished weakly.
Rep Lauren Boebert’s GOP opponents criticized her as ineffective and uninformed. After much prodding, Boebert acknowledged how many of her own bills (prime sponsor) have become law: one. pic.twitter.com/2bn1YGn8n1
— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) May 31, 2024
Boebert’s time in Congress, instead of being spent working on legislation for her constituents, has been sprinkled and seasoned with scandal. In September, the gun-toting Republican was caught vaping, recording, loudly singing along, and fondling her date during a performance of Beetlejuice in Denver, causing her and her date to get kicked out of the theater for “causing a disturbance.” And in February, the Colorado representative’s son was arrested in the city of Rifle over a string of thefts.
Boebert has also used her national platform to call Representative Ilhan Omar a “terrorist,” joined fellow conspiracy theorist Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene in heckling President Joe Biden during his 2022 State of the Union address, and faced calls for her resignation after she tweeted out the location of Nancy Pelosi as the former speaker of the House escaped charging rioters on January 6.