Rep. Lauren Boebert.
RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
Lauren Boebert said she turned to God for guidance in her decision to switch congressional districts.Boebert left Colorado’s 3rd congressional district for its 4th congressional district.Boebert said God told her to press on with the decision.
Switching congressional districts wasn’t an easy decision, says Rep. Lauren Boebert, who revealed that she’d asked God for advice.
“I’m not dumb. I knew all the attacks that would come my way,” Boebert told The Washington Post in an interview published Sunday.
“But I talked to God, I asked, ‘How do I address this? Will this be perceived that I’m not fighting?’ And God said, ‘Do you have more faith in your ability to fight or my ability to open a door?'” Boebert continued.
The Colorado Republican announced in December that she would be switching congressional districts. Boebert said she would leave her existing seat in Colorado’s 3rd congressional district for the more conservative 4th congressional district instead.
“I did not arrive at this decision easily. A lot of prayer, a lot of tough conversations, and a lot of perspective convinced me that this is the best way I can continue to fight for Colorado,” Boebert said in a Facebook video on December 27.
Boebert isn’t the first politician to have attempted the electoral gambit, also known as “carpetbagging.”
The late Arizona Sen. John McCain had never lived in the state until he moved there in 1981 to run for public office. Hilary Clinton did it, too, when she became a senator for New York. The former secretary of state and first lady had never lived in the state until she embarked on her senate campaign.
But Boebert may face an uphill battle to win over voters in the new district. In January, The Denver Post reported that Boebert came in fifth among her fellow GOP candidates in a straw poll conducted on just over 100 Republicans.
Boebert’s reelection prospects have also been overshadowed by her family’s legal troubles.
In January, Boebert was granted a restraining order against her ex-husband, Jayson. Boebert accused her estranged husband of attacking her son, Tyler, during a fight on January 9.
And then, in February, the Rifle Police Department said they had detained Tyler “after a recent string of vehicle trespass and property thefts” in the town.
Boebert told BI in a statement on February 28 that her son “should be held accountable for poor decisions just like any other citizen.”
Representatives for Boebert did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.