Democrat Laubacher declares victory over Boebert
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The gist
Retired Navy rear admiral Eileen Laubacher declared victory over Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert in Colorado's 4th District.
The AP has not called the race; Boebert's campaign expects a recount.
Background
Eileen Laubacher is a retired Navy rear admiral and former National Security Council official running her first campaign; she was a longtime Republican before switching to unaffiliated and then Democratic in 2024. Lauren Boebert is the Republican U.S. representative for Colorado's 4th District, of Windsor, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump who moved to the district two years ago after nearly losing reelection in the 3rd District in 2022. The 4th District, covering most of Douglas County and the Eastern Plains, has in recent years been considered Colorado's most conservative district. Laubacher's win came as part of what is called a "blue tsunami" in which Republican Reps. Gabe Evans and Jeff Crank also lost their Colorado seats.
How it unfolded
- Oct 12, 2026Boebert and Laubacher faced off in a 4th Congressional District debate at 9News in Denver, moderated by Kyle Clark.
- Nov 9, 2026Laubacher declared victory, with the Associated Press estimating 98% of votes counted and her at 48.8% to Boebert's 47.9%, Libertarian Douglas Mangeris at 3.3%.
- Nov 9, 2026As of Monday evening, 3,352 votes separated the candidates, with the AP estimating around 8,000 ballots left to be counted in the district.
- Nov 9, 2026Laubacher attended orientation for new members of Congress.
- Nov 9, 2026Boebert said in a fundraising email that the race remains too close to call and her campaign is preparing for a recount.
- Nov 13, 2026Counties were expected to release final counts, per Boebert campaign attorney Scott Gessler.
Key terms
- AP
- An American not-for-profit news cooperative headquartered in New York City that distributes news reports to members and broadcasters.
- recount
- A repeat tabulation of votes, often triggered when the initial tally is extremely close.
- unaffiliated
- A politician not formally affiliated with any political party.
Source: Wikipedia
Who’s saying what
- Support
- Laubacher said she traveled 40,000 miles across all 21 counties over 17 months, called the victory historic, and said her focus is lowering costs, protecting healthcare, strengthening rural communities and taking on corruption in both parties.
- Caution
- Boebert campaign attorney Scott Gessler called it "irresponsible" to declare a winner before ballots are counted, said the campaign is investigating "very unusual voting patterns" and expects a recount "one way or another."
- Party
- Boebert said in a fundraising email: "Make no mistake, this race is NOT over!"
Still unverified
The Associated Press had not called the race as of Monday. Boebert's campaign said it was "investigating some very unusual voting patterns" and expected a recount "one way or another"; Boebert said the race remains too close to call.