Lauren Boebert primary live: Congresswoman fights for election in new district after scandal-plagued campaign

Colorado Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert faces voters in her state’s GOP primary election on Tuesday after she fled a tough re-election race to run in a more right-leaning district, only to suffer a scandal-hit campaign and accusations of carpet-bagging.

Boebert, who first planted her MAGA flag in the House of Representatives in 2020, has amassed conservative clout with her attention-seeking antics on Capitol Hill but faced more than her fair share of public embarrassments and setbacks.

She has insisted she made the switch to compete for outgoing Ken Buck’s old seat to ensure another Republican could win her old district, although she almost lost it in 2022, blaming “Hollywood elites” for targeting her.

On Tuesday, Boebert is up against a number of more traditional GOP rivals, including former state senator Jerry Sonnenberg, current state representatives Mike Lynch and Richard Holtorf and parental rights advocate Deborah Flora.

New York Democratic congressman Jamaal Bowman, one of the most liberal members of Congress, is meanwhile also facing a strong primary challenge on Tuesday from moderate county executive George Latimer in a Big Apple race that has turned a spotlight on the party’s divides over the Israel-Hamas war.

Lauren Boebert danced in red stilettos down a gauntlet of Republicans wielding foam pool noodles in a faux “American Gladiator” event during one of the more surreal moments of a final campaign appearance Thursday – before voters in a district she’s just moved to decide whether they want her representing them in Congress.

Her opponent in Colorado’s 4th congressional district, Richard Holtorf, pawed the ground with his foot before revving up to run the same gauntlet at full speed – presumably in a