Ken Buck

Ken Buck Bio

Kenneth Robert Buck (born February 16, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician who represented Colorado’s 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2015 until his resignation in March 2024. A former Weld County district attorney and U.S. Department of Justice prosecutor, he chaired the Colorado Republican Party from 2019 to 2021 and ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2010. In Congress, Kenneth Robert Buck joined the House Freedom Caucus, championed fiscal conservatism, and became a leading Republican voice for stronger antitrust enforcement against large technology companies. He announced in November 2023 that he would not seek reelection and resigned from the House in March 2024.

Early Life and Background

Kenneth Robert Buck was born in Ossining, New York, in 1959. He and his two brothers were raised by their parents, Ruth (Larsen) Buck and James Buck, both New York lawyers, who encouraged their children to attend Ivy League colleges. Buck later said that earning a Princeton degree was “more important to my father than me,” reflecting the strong educational expectations in the family.

Buck earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics from Princeton University in 1981, completing a 75-page senior thesis titled “Saudi Arabia: Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place.” At Princeton, he played four years of football on the Princeton Tigers football team, including one year as a defensive back, punter, and kicker, and three years as a punter. He earned All-Ivy League honors as a punter in his senior year.

After college, Kenneth Robert Buck worked at the Wyoming state legislative services office and went on to receive a Juris Doctor from the University of Wyoming College of Law in 1985. He later served as an instructor at the University of Denver Law School and for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy in Colorado.

Path to US Politics

Kenneth Robert Buck began his legal career working for Congressman Dick Cheney on the Iran-Contra investigation in 1986, followed by a stint as a prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. In 1990, he joined the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, where he rose to become Chief of the Criminal Division.

In 2001, Kenneth Robert Buck was formally reprimanded and required to take ethics classes after meeting with defense attorneys about a felony case he believed should not be pursued. Only one of the three men initially indicted was ultimately convicted of a misdemeanor. Buck said he is “not proud” of the incident but felt it was unethical to prosecute such a “weak” case.

Buck was elected District Attorney for Weld County, Colorado, in 2004, sharpening his profile as a conservative law-and-order prosecutor. Frustrated by what he later called the nation’s “lurch to the left,” he announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate on April 28, 2009, beginning a transition from local prosecutor to national political figure.

Ken Buck Career

Early Career (2010-2014)

Kenneth Robert Buck launched his U.S. Senate campaign in 2009 as a self-styled small-money underdog, pledging a “bottom-up” campaign that would visit all 64 of Colorado’s counties. He positioned himself as a candidate for the emerging Tea Party movement, frequently citing opposition to the Affordable Care Act, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and the role of federal policy czars.

After a contentious Republican primary, Kenneth Robert Buck defeated Lieutenant Governor Jane Norton 52% to 48% on August 10, 2010. In the November 2010 general election, he lost to appointed Senator Michael Bennet by 29,896 votes in one of the most expensive races in the country. Buck later conceded that social issues, including his abortion stance, were the main reason for his loss.

2010 U.S. Senate Campaign (2010)

Although the general election ended in defeat, the 2010 U.S. Senate campaign established Kenneth Robert Buck as a prominent national voice for anti-establishment conservatives. The race drew more than $30 million in spending from outside organizations, with both parties highlighting his prosecutorial record and social positions. The narrow loss to Bennet kept Buck politically viable and set the stage for his later run for Congress.

U.S. House of Representatives Breakthrough (2014-2018)

Kenneth Robert Buck initially filed to challenge Senator Mark Udall in 2014 but withdrew in March 2014 after Cory Gardner entered the race. He pivoted to run for Colorado’s 4th congressional district, winning the Republican primary with 44% of the vote and defeating Democratic nominee Vic Meyers with 65% in the general election. He was sworn in as a U.S. Representative in January 2015.

Buck won reelection in 2016 against Democrat Bob Seay with 63.5% of the vote and in 2018 against Democrat Karen McCormick with 60.6%. During this period, he emerged as one of the foremost Republican proponents of antitrust enforcement, particularly against large technology companies, and became an early member of the House Freedom Caucus.

Kenneth Robert Buck supported the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, calling the bill “fairer for American families” and saying it would “keep more jobs in America.” He published his first book, Drain the Swamp: How Washington Corruption is Worse Than You Think, in 2017, further raising his national profile.

House Leadership Era (2019-2024)

Kenneth Robert Buck chaired the Colorado Republican Party from 2019 to 2021 while continuing to serve in the House. In 2021, he introduced the House version of the Open App Markets Act alongside Democrat Hank Johnson and supported the proposed American Innovation and Choice Online Act. In 2022, he was one of 39 Republicans to vote for the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package targeting anti-competitive corporate behavior.

In 2023, Kenneth Robert Buck co-founded the Congressional Antitrust Caucus with Representative David Cicilline, cementing his reputation as a bipartisan policy entrepreneur on technology issues. He also co-founded the Congressional Antitrust Caucus to advance structural competition policy reforms.

Buck published his second book, Crushed: Big Tech’s War on Free Speech, in 2023. He voted against the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 and was one of only four Republicans to vote against the proposed Limit, Save, Grow Act, criticizing his party for offering only “modest spending reductions.” On October 3, 2023, he was one of eight Republicans who voted to remove Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House, citing broken promises on spending negotiations.

Notable Events and Milestones

Kenneth Robert Buck announced on November 1, 2023, that he would not seek a sixth House term, criticizing fellow Republicans for being “obsessively fixated on retribution and vengeance for contrived injustices of the past.” He added that “our nation is on a collision course with reality, and a steadfast commitment to truth — even uncomfortable truths — is the only way forward.” On March 12, 2024, he announced he would resign from Congress within days, departing on March 22, 2024. The House Freedom Caucus symbolically ejected him days before his departure, citing differences over election denialism and impeachment votes.

Ken Buck Career Wins

Kenneth Robert Buck compiled a long record of electoral victories during his time in elected office, beginning with his 2004 race for Weld County District Attorney and continuing through five consecutive wins in Colorado’s 4th congressional district. His margins in the general election consistently exceeded 60%, reflecting durable support in a Republican-leaning district.

Congressional Election Highlights

Kenneth Robert Buck won five House terms from 2014 to 2022, never falling below 60% of the general-election vote. He ran unopposed in the Republican primary in 2016 and 2018, underscoring his grip on the local party. In 2022, he defeated Democratic nominee Ike McCorkle for a second time with 60.9% of the vote, capping his tenure as one of the most successful Republican vote-getters in Colorado history.

Other Wins and Achievements

Beyond electoral victories, Kenneth Robert Buck achieved several institutional milestones, including chairing the Colorado Republican Party from 2019 to 2021 and co-founding the Congressional Antitrust Caucus in 2023. He authored two books, Drain the Swamp in 2017 and Crushed in 2023, and delivered a widely covered 2022 speech on antitrust law and Big Tech at the National Conservatism Conference.

Ken Buck Family

Family Background and Political Lineage

Kenneth Robert Buck was raised in a family of New York lawyers. His father, James Buck, and his mother, Ruth (Larsen) Buck, encouraged their three sons to attend Ivy League colleges, a value that shaped Buck’s path to Princeton University. The family’s strong legal and educational background provided a foundation for his later career as a prosecutor and congressman.

Personal Life

Both of Kenneth Robert Buck’s marriages ended in divorce. He married Dayna Roane in 1984 and they divorced in 1994, and he has two children from that marriage. His son Cody Buck, born in 1988, is a 2011 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Buck married his second wife, Perry Webster, in 1996, and they announced their divorce on November 9, 2018, three days after the midterm election. Buck is Protestant.