Douglas County Republican Deborah Flora, one of nine GOP candidates running for the Colorado congressional seat formerly held by Republican Ken Buck, has qualified for the primary ballot by submitting a sufficient number of petition signatures, state election officials said Tuesday.

The nonprofit founder and former talk radio host joins two-term U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert on the June 25 Republican primary ballot, which will decide the party’s nominee in the 4th Congressional District for the November election.

Boebert, who moved from the more competitive 3rd Congressional District into the solidly Republican 4th CD in January, qualified by petition earlier this month.

“I’m thrilled with the response we had from voters signing our petition in all 21 counties,” Flora said in a statement posted to X, the site formerly known as Twitter. “I so appreciate our team of volunteers and all who worked to make sure we are on the ballot! These voters and more are ready for new conservative leadership that they can be proud of in Washington. Now, more than ever, I’m ready to deliver that and be their voice in Congress.”

The 4th CD covers Douglas County, parts of Larimer and Weld counties and Colorado’s Eastern Plains.

The primary election will take place simultaneously with a special election to fill the remainder of Buck’s term, following the five-term lawmaker’s resignation, which took effect on March 22. Buck earlier announced that he wouldn’t seek reelection to the solidly Republican seat, inspiring a crowded field of candidates hoping to replace him.

Boebert and Flora have both said that they won’t seek the GOP nomination for the special election, which will be decided at a convention of Republican party officers and elected officials on Thursday in Hugo.

Democrats plan to nominate a candidate for the special election in a virtual convention on April 1.

In order to make the primary ballot, major party congressional candidates in Colorado must gather 1,500 signatures from fellow party members. The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office said 1,885 of the 3,504 signatures submitted by Flora met requirements.

Candidates can access Colorado’s primary by gathering petition signatures, by winning support from at least 30% of the delegates to their party’s district assembly, or by pursuing both methods.

The other Republicans seeking the nomination in the 4th CD primary are state Reps. Mike Lynch and Richard Holtorf, former state Sens. Jerry Sonnenberg and Ted Harvey, fossil fuels advocate Floyd Trujillo, former congressional staffer Chris Phelen and business consultant Peter Yu, the 2018 GOP nominee in the neighboring 2nd Congressional District.

All but Harvey submitted petitions by last week’s deadline and are awaiting word from state officials whether they’ll make the ballot. Harvey, for his part, is only going through the assembly, scheduled for April 5 in Pueblo.

Also on Tuesday, Flora unveiled her campaign’s Women’s Coalition — more than three dozen female supporters, led by former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton and including one of Boebert’s former campaign managers.

Asserting that the contrast between Flora and the other Republican candidates “is so clear,” Norton said in a statement: “She has a fresh and unparalleled conservatism that goes beyond the traditional party constituencies, and her principled leadership in her home of CD-4 shows that she will be a strong voice for us all.”

Laura Carno, an Elbert County resident who ran Boebert’s campaign in 2020 after the restaurant owner unseated a five-term Republican congressman in the GOP primary, said Flora’s character differentiates her from Carno’s former boss.

“Just when we thought Congress’ approval ratings couldn’t get any lower, we see representatives putting their own self-interests over the needs of their constituents and the American people,” Carno said in a statement. “We need people like Deborah Flora who have the conservative principles and strength of character to honorably serve the district’s voters. She’ll be the leader we can trust to perform her duties faithfully and with integrity, traits that are lacking in Washington today.”

Among the other members of the coalition are state Rep. Brandi Bradley, Centennial Mayor Stephanie Piko, Aurora City Council members Danielle Jurinsky and Stephanie Hancock, Douglas County Coroner RaeAnn Brown and Barbara Piper, a National Federation of Republican Women board member.