Republican lawmaker Lauren Boebert has announced she is switching Colorado districts in an attempt to stay in Congress.
Ms Boebert was facing a tough re-election campaign against Democrat Adam Frisch in the 3rd Congressional District and announced on Wednesday that she will now compete in the more GOP-friendly 4th.
The move comes a few months after she made national headlines when she and a male companion were kicked out of a performance of Beetlejuice in Denver.
Security footage appeared to show the pair groping each other in the theatre, and she was accused of vaping, talking loudly and using her phone.
“I did not arrive at this decision easily,” Boebert said in a Facebook video on Wednesday. “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, for the conservative movement and for my children’s future.”
Her former opponent on Thursday released a statement saying she was “running scared.”
Mr Frisch wrote that the incumbent Republican “knows she can’t match our campaign’s ability to connect with voters and the hard work we have put in to provide them with a common sense voice in Congress, including driving over 45,000 miles and holding hundreds of public meetings in every corner of this great district.
“Even before the Beetlejuice debacle that embarrassed her constituents, our campaign was polling ahead of Boebert because voters saw that we were showing up in their communities and appreciated the hard work, authenticity, sincerity and independence that this campaign embodies.”
Ms Boebert had lost the support of senior Republican figures in the western part of the state and struggled with fundraising, reported The Colorado Sun.
“Personally, this announcement is a fresh start following a pretty difficult year for me and my family,” she added, in the video.
Ms Boebert, a 37-year-old mother of four who is also a grandmother, currently lives hundreds of miles away from the district she is seeking to represent.
But she says that she will move to the district in 2024, although it is not required to run for office.
Ms Boebert won the 3rd District by just 546 votes in 2022. However a Republican victory there is more likely if she is not the candidate as the 3rd District has not elected a Democrat since 2008.
“Republicans will hold the 3rd and I’ll proudly represent the 4th and Republicans will be stronger for it,” Ms Boebert said in her video.
