It Appears That Boebert's Political Gamble Will Pay Off

One of the higher-profile races in Tuesday's primary voting is in Colorado, where controversial GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert is about to find out whether her risky political gamble of switching districts will pay off. If the polls are right, she's going to cruise to victory in her crowded primary race, reports the Wall Street Journal.

• The polls: Boebert had a 35-point lead over the closest competitor in a poll earlier this month, per the Colorado Sun. "The math just isn't there for anybody to beat her," Colorado GOP political consultant Dick Wadhams tells the Journal.
• Which means: Boebert is running for the seat being vacated by the retiring Ken Buck, a Republican. The 4th District is considered "deep red," notes NBC News, making the GOP primary winner a big favorite in the general election. Assuming Boebert wins Tuesday, her once-shaky prospects of remaining in Congress look assured.

• Background: Slate has a backgrounder on Boebert's decision to switch from the 3rd District, which she currently represents, to the 4th. She barely won her last reelection and faced an even tougher fight had she stayed put. Even "for all of the embarrassment she courts, her [new] district's GOP lean should be enough to carry her," writes Jim Newell. "But if this one is also too close for comfort in the end? There won't be a redder place in Colorado for Boebert to turn to."
• Controversies: Boebert has made plenty of headlines over the last few years, and Axios highlights the more controversial ones. Those include her handsy Beetlejuice attendance, all kinds of family drama, a key missed vote, and her heckling of President Biden at the State of the Union. Helping her is that she has been endorsed by former President Trump, who calls her a "Trusted America First Fighter."
• On the trail: New York Times columnist Michelle Cottle has been following Boebert on the campaign trail in Colorado. The congresswoman, she writes, "is attempting to balance the seemingly irreconcilable: her brand as an uncompromising MAGA warrior hell-bent on destroying the libs, on the one hand, and on the other, her message to Coloradans that she is an effective legislator who can deliver on the issues they care about." Read her full piece.

(More Lauren Boebert stories.)