Greg Lopez selected as GOP nominee for special election, will run to serve remainder of Ken Buck's term in Colorado Congressional District 4
After hours of voting, Greg Lopez was chosen as the Republican nominee for the Colorado's Congressional District 4 special election.
The Republican committee picked Lopez as its candidate to serve out the remainder of U.S. Representative Ken Buck's term. Lopez signed a pledge that he would not run for the seat in the general election.
On March 12, Buck announced that he would resign before his term was up, further narrowing the GOP's majority in the chamber.
Buck had previously announced he would not seek reelection at the end of his term, which ends in November. But he said that his resignation would be effective on March 22, and released a short statement about his decision.
"It has been an honor to serve the people of Colorado's 4th District in Congress for the past 9 years. I want to thank them for their support and encouragement throughout the years. Today, I am announcing that I will depart Congress at the end of next week. I look forward to staying involved in our political process, as well as spending more time in Colorado and with my family," he said.
Earlier, Buck appeared on CNN and said his recent experience in Congress has been filled with problems: "It is the worst year of the nine years and three months that I've been in Congress."
CBS News Colorado Political Specialist Shaun Boyd spoke with Buck shortly after he made his announcement. He told her that he wants to change the way the nation selects candidates at all levels of government so that voters have better options. He pointed to the presumptive presidential nominees -- President Biden and former President Donald Trump -- as an example of the system not working right.
Special Election for Congressional District 4 is on June 25, while Democrats choose a candidate in April.