U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn won’t run for reelection this year to a 10th term in Congress, the Colorado Springs Republican announced Friday, a decision that’s certain to ignite a fierce race to replace him in Colorado’s 5th Congressional District.
“I think it’s time for a new chapter in my life,” Lamborn, 69, told The Colorado Sun in an interview Friday morning. “I want to do things with my wife and my kids and my grandkids. It just seems like it’s the right time.”
Lamborn’s move means that all three of Colorado’s GOP-held congressional districts will be open in November.
U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, R-Windsor, is retiring from his 4th Congressional District seat. U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Garfield County, announced last week that she was abandoning her 3rd Congressional District reelection bid to run for Buck’s seat, which is more favorable to Republicans.
Boebert filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission this week making the move official. Drew Sexton, her campaign manager, said she wouldn’t run in the 5th District.
Democrats control Colorado’s five other congressional districts.
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The 5th Congressional District is entirely in El Paso County. It leans 20 percentage points in the GOP’s favor, according to an analysis of election results from 2016 to 2020 in the district conducted by nonpartisan legislative staff. Lamborn won reelection in 2022 by 16 percentage points.
Only Colorado’s 4th District is considered more favorable to the GOP.
Lamborn has fended off a number of Republican primary challengers since first being elected in 2006. Most recently, he defeated three primary opponents in 2022, including then-state Rep. Dave Williams, who is now chairman of the Colorado GOP.
Before being elected to Congress, Lamborn, a fierce opponent of abortion who has focused his work in Washington on military issues, served in the state legislature from 1995 through the end of 2006.
Lamborn first announced his decision Friday on the Richard Randall Show on KVOR, a conservative talk radio station in southern Colorado.
Lamborn is the 38th member of the U.S. House to announce their retirement when their current term ends or who have decided to run for a different office in 2024. Another seven House members have recently left Congress or are leaving before their terms are up.
“I feel like I’ve accomplished many of the goals that I set out to do,” Lamborn told The Sun, “and the latest one was keeping Space Command in Colorado Springs.”
But his years in office weren’t without some controversy.
One of Lamborn’s former staffers sued the congressman in 2021, claiming Lamborn failed to follow safety protocols during the COVD-19 pandemic and alleging Lamborn used office resources for personal benefit. Congressional ethics investigators concluded there was “substantial reason” to conclude Lamborn misused official resources.
Lamborn denied the allegations. He settled the lawsuit in early 2023 and it appears the House Committee on Ethics never acted on its investigation.
Five Democrats had filed to run for Lamborn’s seat as of Friday, but Lamborn was the only Republican in the race.
Because the 5th District is so dominated by the GOP, and because Lamborn has had so many primary challengers in the past, there are several Republicans already eyeing the seat.
Williams hinted on social media that he may run, using the Colorado GOP’s account on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, to amplify his interest.
Former Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams, who ran unsuccessfully last year to be Colorado Springs mayor, said he, too, is interested in the race.
“Lamborn has fought hard for our community and the security of our nation,” he said in a statement. ” I appreciate his dedication and service, and wish he and Jeanie well in their retirement.”
Eli Bremer, a former Olympian who also once served as chair of the El Paso County GOP, said he was “considering all options.”
“I was surprised by Congressman Lamborn’s decision this morning,” Bremer, who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate 2022, said in a text to The Sun. “He has represented our district well and with distinction and will be missed.”
Jason Dunn, Colorado’s former Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney, said in a post on X that the Colorado GOP “is really at an inflection point.” He said this year “will determine whether Colorado Republicans have a real voice in Congress and a future in leading Colorado, or whether they are relegated to antagonist backbenchers and laughing-stocks.”