Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) said he is not “going to lie” on behalf of the Republican Party when asked why he decided to not seek reelection.
Buck, who announced last November that he will not be running for reelection, said on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday” that while his goals for the country have not changed, the world around him “has changed dramatically.”
“We’ve gone from a time when the Tea Party stood for conservative principles, for constitutional principles, to a time where the [populists] have taken over the Republican Party and are really advocating things that I believe are very dangerous,” he told host Chris Stirewalt in an interview that aired Sunday.
When asked why he decided to leave Congress, Buck said that numerous different factors led to his decision.
“The MAGA crowd ran a primary against me last time. I won 75-25. I’m not concerned about [a] primary, I’m not concerned about losing a general election. You know, the time is right. I’m at a point in my life where I want to do different things. I want to enjoy my family more, I want to [do] less business travel and more recreational travel. There are a lot of things that went into the decision,” he said.
“But really we’re at a time in American politics, that I am not going to lie on behalf of my presidential candidate, on behalf of my party. And I’m very sad that others in my party have taken the position that, as long as we get the White House, it doesn’t really matter what we say,” he added.
Buck has criticized some members of his party for promoting false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Trump. Buck, who voted to certify the 2020 election results, withheld support from Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) when he was running for the Speakership last fall over concerns he had with Jordan’s actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Trump praised Buck’s decision not to seek another term, saying it was a “great thing” for the Republican Party.
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