# Ken Buck (R, Colorado) is retiring next week **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 12, 2024, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768 "2024-03-12T19:38:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MulderMuffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldermuffin/32/2862_2.png) [@MulderMuffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MulderMuffin)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768/1 "2024-03-12T19:38:57Z")
> **[Buck to retire next week, narrowing House GOP majority](https://www.yahoo.com/news/buck-retire-next-week-narrowing-180931728.html)** > > Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) will retire from Congress next week, he announced Tuesday, a move that will narrow the House GOP’s razor-thin majority even further. Buck — who has become known for breaking from his party on various issues and criticizing... Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) will retire from Congress next week, he announced Tuesday, a move that will narrow the House GOP’s razor-thin majority even further. Bu… What does this bring the margin of error to for the Republican side? One? Rats deserting a sinking ship… Eta: answering my own question > His impending departure will knock the House GOP’s majority down by one, bringing the breakdown in the House to 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats. Buck’s exit will not change the margin: Republicans will still only afford to lose two of their members on any party-line votes, assuming all lawmakers are present. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768/2 "2024-03-12T22:19:07Z")
Do the Republicans even have a majority at this point? Seems like all it’d take is a motion to vacate and we’d have Speaker Jeffries before the Republicans could even circle their wagons. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768/3 "2024-03-12T22:20:37Z")
Some Ken Buck conversation here too: > [@Please explain Lauren Boebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-lauren-boebert/990163/333): > > Rep. Ken Buck – who had already announced he’s retiring and whose seat Boebert is running for – announced today he’s going to resign from Congress at the end of next week. That means there will need to be a special election to fill the remainder of his term, as well as the primary and general election for the next term. I don’t know enough about Colorado special elections law to say whether this helps or hurts Boebert, but the great news is this leaves House Republicans down a member for a whi… ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768/4 "2024-03-12T22:38:39Z")
> [@"MulderMuffin](#): > > Rats deserting a sinking ship… Buck is a fucking coward. For a decade he was willing to tolerate the hate and bigotry of his party’s voting base, just as long as he got his. But now, he’ll just run away rather than fight for the country. Screw him. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768/5 "2024-03-13T00:52:44Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Do the Republicans even have a majority at this point? This vacancy would leave them 5 ahead in the gross which means only 2 votes they can spare to lose on anything requiring true absolute majority. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768/6 "2024-03-13T11:39:46Z")
Does this not seem specifically about fucking Boebert over? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768/7 "2024-03-13T14:32:06Z")
Has been brought up in her own thread, [she seems to think so](https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/world/news/lauren-boebert-says-special-election-triggered-by-ken-bucks-resignation-is-swampy-and-could-confuse-voters/articleshow/108449316.cms) because the timing of [the special election changes the lay of the land](https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4528573-how-bucks-early-retirement-is-a-problem-for-boebert/) due to what Colorado requires re: special elections scheduling. Whether Buck timed his actual vacancy so as to force the special election window to have to coincide with the primary, well… he’ll tell us if he feels like telling us, I suppose… Basically as it stands now: Boebert even running in the special _is dependent on the state party nominating her to the special_, and it would require her to give up her _current_ seat _before_ the election, plus she would anyway ALSO have to win the primary in order to run in November for reelection as “incumbent”. OTOH she can just let the special go, and try and win the primary so the special election chooses only a placeholder. Her strategy was to move to a district that is a solid Republican “safe seat” as opposed to a contested one and take advantage of name recognition over a largish field of less than stellar contenders to make it past the primary. Her fear is that the Party may handpick one of the other primary contenders to run in the special election and voters would then be inclined to vote for the same person in both columns. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768/8 "2024-03-13T15:09:37Z")
I don’t want to read the three hundred post thread on Boebert so can anyone explain briefly why Boebert, who already has a seat in Colorado’s 3rd district, is seeking to run in Colorado’s 4th district? ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768/9 "2024-03-13T15:16:16Z")
Because she only won the 3rd by 0.2% in 2022. And she hasn’t really become more electable since then. The 4th is solidly Republican. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768/10 "2024-03-13T15:19:31Z")
To be fair, the 3rd is also solidly Republican (though less so than the 4th) — just not for her. Republicans are expected to have no problem holding the seat with her out of the picture. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768/11 "2024-03-13T16:00:27Z")
My understanding is both districts lean Republican. So if Boebert is facing problems in the 3rd, where she’s the incumbent, it seems like those problems will be worse in the 4th, where she’s an outsider. That said, this wouldn’t be the first time Boebert has fought a battle with reality. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768/12 "2024-03-13T16:05:13Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > So if Boebert is facing problems in the 3rd, where she’s the incumbent, it seems like those problems will be worse in the 4th, where she’s an outsider. Maybe. The 3rd is like GOP+7 while the 4th is more like +13. That extra 6% is a pretty big deal, and possibly enough to overcome her outsider status. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768/13 "2024-03-13T16:07:19Z")
I see in that piece that she’s asking local party officials to name a candidate (for the special) who’s not entering the primary for the November election. Whether they agree or not could be a window into the support she has in her new district. I hope Ken Buck did this deliberately. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768/14 "2024-03-13T16:19:21Z")
If she wasn’t already stepping into a pretty crowded primary field, she might have had a chance. But the Kansas Coloradoans haven’t taken kindly to her carpetbagging and behavior. Buck isn’t screwing Boebert - she already did that to herself. I’m of the opinion Buck is trying to salvage his reputation/legacy after the utter shitshow he’s proudly and actively supported for the last decade in the House has jumped the shark. I mean, Buck is the guy who refused to prosecute a rape where the victim had their rapist recorded on tape admitting to raping her, saying it sounded more like “buyer’s remorse”. He’s an absolute piece of shit. ---
**Author:** ![MulderMuffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldermuffin/32/2862_2.png) [@MulderMuffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MulderMuffin)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768/15 "2024-03-13T16:44:50Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > He’s an absolute piece of shit. Absolutely true. And how bad must the Republican House be if this ultra-conservative asshat finds them so dysfunctional that he had to bail early from such a cushy job? Work a handful of days a month, no need to toe any lines because you aren’t running for reelection. But I’m happy for anything that highlights the incompetence of the Republican house. Bonus points if it screws Boebert. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768/16 "2024-03-13T17:06:58Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > I’m of the opinion Buck is trying to salvage his reputation/legacy after the utter shitshow he’s proudly and actively supported for the last decade in the House has jumped the shark. Or Buck is smart enough to see that SS Trump is sinking and knows the early rats off the ship get first pick of the post-politics jobs. Out of work right wing Congressmen are probably going to be a glut on the market next February. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768/17 "2024-03-13T17:07:39Z")
I’ve talked to Ken Buck and IMHO he’s frustrated with the party swinging even further to the right. I think the control the FuCers in the House hold over the Republican caucus convinced him that his time was done. And considering how far Right buck is, that’s saying a lot. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768/18 "2024-03-13T17:55:21Z")
Yeah and from what I hear apparently there would be sn even larger rush for the exits if it weren’t for the narrow majority. A lot of even hard-right people got just pissed at going theough the Speaker Wars and the appropriation nonsense only to wind up pretty much where they would have ended anyway had Kev Mac stayed in charge except that now they are being accused of being RINOs by primary freaks. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768/19 "2024-03-13T18:30:17Z")
> [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > I hope Ken Buck did this deliberately. His name is Buck and he’s here to… obstruct. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2024, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768/20 "2024-03-13T19:00:31Z")
If Buck, a relatively anti-MAGA Republican, is gone, then isn’t that only a temporary boon for Democrats? He could soon be replaced by a more-MAGA-ish guy. The Democrats will only enjoy a brief window of time to exploit the loss of 1 R in the House. Which they should, but the time will be short. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-buck-r-colorado-is-retiring-next-week/998768.md?page=2)