Congresswoman-elect Lauren Boebert intends to kick off her tenure by stepping into political controversy when she arrives in Washington.
The Republican who will represent the Western Slope and Pueblo when she takes office Jan. 3 announced Thursday that she will challenge the results of the presidential election won by former Vice President Joe Biden.
Boebert, who asked Capitol law enforcement last month about carrying her Glock on Capitol grounds, said she will object to the results of the Electoral College. In a news release Thursday, the 34-year-old from Rifle repeated claims about voter fraud and technical issues with voting machines — accusations perpetuated by President Donald Trump without evidence.
“The American people deserve secure and fair elections,” Boebert said. “Unfortunately, the 2020 election was neither of those things.”
The Electoral College voted Dec. 14, giving Biden 306 votes versus 232 for Trump. The U.S. House and Senate are scheduled to vote on confirming those results Jan. 6.
Boebert would not be the first to object to the certification of Electoral College votes. Objections from members of Congress have occurred three times since 2001, according to Boebert’s news release.
In the last few days, several other House Republicans have indicated they would challenge this year’s Electoral College tally.
Boebert repeated unfounded claims that ballots were fraudulent or not properly counted in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia and Michigan — all states won by Biden.
“Several states removed voter safeguards during the 2020 elections that violated provisions in their respective state constitutions and the United States Constitution,” she said, according to her news release. “As a Representative sworn to defend the U.S. Constitution, it is my responsibility to object to the Electoral College results that were recorded under these circumstances.”
Trump and his allies have lost more than 40 challenges to the presidential election in various courts across the country. Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a claim from Pennsylvania Republicans seeking to overturn the election in that state, issuing a one-sentence ruling with no dissenting opinion.
Boebert will represent the state’s 3rd Congressional District after beating incumbent Scott Tipton in the Republican primary and Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush in November.