'Cling to power': GOP candidates in Lauren Boebert's new district call out her 'trickery'

Rep. Lauren Boebert's (R-CO) move to bow out of her western and southern district of the Rocky Mountain state for redder Eastern plain pastures has emboldened a crowded field, some of whom are publicly vowing to trounce her.

The renegade Republican on Wednesday apparently rankled rivals vying to replace Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) who confirmed he wouldn't seek reelection in 2024.

On a Facebook video to announce her decision, Boebert said she wanted to stress "the importance of maintaining a conservative voice for Colorado in Congress as well as keeping our Republican House majority."

In 2022, the representative barely skated by her challenger Democratic opponent Adam Frisch by just 546 votes in the 3rd district.

State Rep. Richard Holtorf, who claims to have deep cattle ranching roots in the 4th District region and is a fellow Republican, called Boebert's reroute "seat shopping" and noted that it "isn't something voters look kindly on."

"Does she think we're that stupid," he asked in an interview with CBS News. "Does she think we're going to be fooled by this trickery?"

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In a tweeted statement Holtorf went further; making it his mission to prove that she would be bested.

"She is grossly lacking in understanding the needs of the 21 counties in Eastern Colorado that make up this district," it reads. "She knew she'd lose in her own district and I'll show here that [sic] she'll lose here too."

He wasn't alone.

Former Colorado Sen. Ted Harvey called out Boebert for carpetbagging.

"It's sad, first and foremost, because she ran to say that she wasn't going to be a career politician," Harvey told CBS News. "She has lost the confidence of the conservative voters in the 3rd Congressional District, so much so that she was probably going to lose that seat."

"And so now she's decided to cling to power and continue to be a career politician."

Like Holtorf, he is up for the challenge and believes he can serve Colorado conservatives better than she can.

"We want to have a candidate that will represent our small government, lower taxes, conservative values that believe in having sovereign borders and believe in making sure that our government is serving us and representing us but not trying to be our boss," said Harvey.