Boebert Holds Off on Concession as Colorado Finishes Counting in Tight 4th District Race

Rep. Lauren Boebert is asking Colorado to finish the count before anyone declares it done. The three-term Republican trails Democrat Eileen Laubacher in the 4th Congressional District, but she has declined to concede while counties tally the last cured, military and overseas ballots, and the Associated Press had not called the race as of Wednesday, KOAA reported. Outside the U.S. Capitol, Boebert asked reporters "why would I concede if the votes aren't all in?" and said she expects every ballot counted by Friday.

As of Monday evening, Laubacher had 186,199 votes, or 48.8 percent, to Boebert's 182,847, or 47.9 percent, with Libertarian Douglas Mangeris at 3.3 percent and an estimated 98 percent counted, Breitbart reported, citing AP figures. By Wednesday evening the split stood at 48.79 percent to 47.91 percent. CNN projected Laubacher the winner Monday, and she claimed victory that afternoon, The Colorado Sun reported.

In a video Monday, Boebert noted that Colorado law gives counties until Nov. 13 to finish counting and curing ballots and likened an early victory claim to "icing a cake before it comes out of the oven". She thanked her volunteers and said that, whatever the outcome, she and her supporters would move forward together.

Laubacher said her campaign had never been about party labels, adding that "making history means nothing if we don't make a difference," Colorado Politics reported. She listed lowering costs, protecting health care, strengthening rural communities and confronting corruption in both parties as priorities. Laubacher, 58, is a first-time candidate, a retired Navy rear admiral and a former National Security Council official.

Anchored by Douglas County and spanning all or part of 21 counties, including the Eastern Plains, the 4th is Colorado's most solidly Republican district, according to Colorado Politics. Republicans who held it before Boebert routinely won by more than 20 points, and Democrats have captured it only once in the modern era, in 2008, under different lines. Boebert, who nearly lost the 3rd District in 2022, moved to the 4th and won it by 11 points two years ago.

This time Laubacher carried the more populous parts of Douglas, Larimer and Arapahoe counties, while Boebert led the smaller rural counties. Laubacher also raised nearly $14 million through mid-October, more than 10 times Boebert's $1.2 million. Boebert blamed heavy outside spending for the tight result and said she had hoped to prove that seats cannot be bought. Asked whether the midterms were a verdict on the president's party, she called the results a collective failure and declined to blame any one person.

Boebert has never been a rubber stamp: she joined a 2025 discharge petition seeking Epstein-related files, and Trump called for a primary challenge in May after she backed Thomas Massie, though he renewed his endorsement before the election.

In Colorado, Democrats also flipped the 5th and 8th districts, and the state could send seven Democrats and one Republican to the next Congress, while Democrats won control of both chambers nationally, Colorado Politics reported.

The AP, in a report published by PBS, catalogued other seats Democrats had not expected to win. Rep. Richard Hudson, who led the House GOP campaign committee, lost North Carolina's 9th District; Rep. Victoria Spartz lost an Indiana district Trump carried by 17 points in 2024; and Rep. Bryan Steil lost a Wisconsin seat no Democrat had won since 1993. Speaker Mike Johnson will not seek another term as House Republican leader.

Voters whose ballots were flagged for signature problems have until 11:59 p.m. Thursday to fix them. Heading into last weekend, more than 3,000 ballots in the district needed curing, according to Weld County Clerk Carly Koppes, a Republican. Some counties are holding ballots to count Friday with remaining military and overseas ballots.

Colorado orders an automatic recount when the gap is 0.5 percent or less of the leader's total, which as of Monday meant roughly 930 votes, less than a third of Laubacher's lead. A candidate can still request a recount but must pay for it. Counties must finish their official canvass by Nov. 25, also the deadline to request a self-funded recount; automatic recounts must be done by Dec. 4 and requested ones by Dec. 8, FOX31 reported, citing the Secretary of State's calendar.

In a fundraising email, Boebert told supporters her legal team expects a recount one way or another. Her attorney, former Secretary of State Scott Gessler, said the campaign is investigating unusual voting patterns, though he gave no evidence and local officials reported no problems. A political scientist told FOX31 recounts very rarely change outcomes. Boebert said Wednesday that if Laubacher prevails, she will not run for the seat in 2028.

Boebert is right that a contest this close should be settled by county clerks, not television networks. If Friday confirms Laubacher's lead, the path Boebert herself sketched, moving forward together, will serve her supporters well. For Republicans, the harder lesson is that seats once taken for granted are no longer safe, and winning back suburban families in places like Douglas County will take more than a strong rural vote.