Lauren Boebert’s Dem challenger halts fundraising, cites Colorado redistricting plan: report

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A Colorado Democrat who planned to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert in 2022 has halted her campaign fundraising, citing proposed changes to the state’s congressional map that would place the Democrat’s properties outside the 3rd Congressional District that Boebert represents, according to reports.

Kerry Donovan lives in Vail and owns a ranch in neighboring Wolcott, neither of which would be located in the revised 3rd district as proposed in the state’s revised congressional map, which still requires approval from the state Supreme Court, FOX 31 of Denver reported.

The map was redrawn and approved by the state’s Redistricting Commission following the release of 2020 U.S. Census data, which also resulted in Colorado gaining an eighth seat in the U.S. House, up from the current seven. The seven districts needed to be reconfigured to eight.

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In a statement posted Monday, Donovan complained the redrawing had made the 3rd district "more Republican," which she said was "an inexplicable change given that Colorado has grown significantly more Democratic since the last redistricting process 10 years ago."

Donovan, a state senator facing term limits, has raised about $1.2 million for her U.S. House campaign, according to The Associated Press, while Boebert has raised about $1.8 million.

The state's 3rd Congressional District spans an area covering much of the western and southern part of the state.

The Colorado Republican Party, meanwhile, claimed the redrawn map makes House races more competitive and the party was pleased with the process used by the redistricting panel, FOX 31 reported.

Reports earlier this month said the plan shifted Boebert’s home to a Democrat-controlled district.

While the U.S. Constitution requires members of Congress to reside in the states they represent, they are not required to live in their own districts. But living outside their district typically exposes lawmakers to easy criticism, so many prefer to live in their districts.

Then-GOP candidate Lauren Boebert is seen in Colona, Colorado, Oct. 10, 2020.  (Getty Images)

In her statement, Donovan claimed the state’s proposed new map makes the districts less competitive, so that incumbents, whether Democrats or Republicans, were more likely to hold on to their House seats, and the addition of an eighth seat making a 4-4 split between the parties a likely outcome in 2022.

She argued that such a split would not reflect "the will of the voters" in what she claimed was an "increasingly blue state."

The Democrat said she was pausing her fundraising until the state Supreme Court decides on the new map, saying, "I can’t in good conscience continue to raise money from hardworking Americans for a campaign that lacks, for the moment at least, a clear path forward."

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Donovan serves as a state senator, representing the state’s 5th District.

The state Supreme Court has until Nov. 1 to approve the redrawn map or require the Redistricting Commission to make further changes, FOX 31 reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.