Congressional District 3 race between Boebert and Frisch headed for a recount
VOTERS DECIDE UPDATE: District 3 Democratic challenger Adam Frisch concedes race to Congresswoman Lauren Boebert
The race between Republican incumbent Lauren Boebert and Democratic challenger Adam Frisch in Congressional District 3 is headed for a recount and it could be another three weeks before we know the final result.
For more than a week, an army of campaign volunteers and party operatives have been chasing down a few hundred ballots that would decide the candidates' fate in a district that spans 29 counties in southern Colorado. Some ballots were missing signatures or had signatures that didn't match voter records while others were ballots used by people whose eligibility was in question.
Those ballots and outstanding military and overseas ballots were due midnight Wednesday. Clerks also held back a few hundred ballots to mix in with those it received Wednesday in order to keep the votes as anonymous as possible.
Election workers began tallying the votes Thursday. Boebert started the day with a lead of about 1,100 votes but as ballots were processed - with watchers from both parties and attorneys from both campaigns monitoring them - Frisch closed the gap to within 543 votes Thursday night, with only Otero County not reporting.
The district favors republicans by 9 points and hasn't elected a Democrat in 24 years. Boebert was expected to win easily.
Under state law, if the margin between the candidates is one-half of 1% or less, it triggers an automatic recount. The Secretary of State has until Dec. 5 to order the recount and the deadline for results is Dec. 13. Based on past recounts, it is unlikely to shift the final result in District 3 by more than a handful of votes.
As the result hangs in the balance, both Boebert and Frisch are in D-C. Boebert is back for the lame-duck session and Frisch is participating in freshman orientation
