Republican Boebert still short of Democrat Laubacher in Colorado CD-4 race, ballots still being counted
Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert is facing the possibility of losing her congressional seat in Colorado's 4th Congressional District, with Democrat Eileen Laubacher maintaining a lead as votes continue to be counted Wednesday evening.
The race is defying expectations in a district widely considered a safe Republican seat. While not all ballots have been counted, Laubacher's lead has put Boebert's political future in jeopardy.
"I could not be more proud of what we have accomplished," said Eileen Laubacher, the Democratic challenger, at her election night watch party.
Laubacher's campaign appeared to be gaining momentum despite early expectations that the heavily Republican district would be difficult for a Democrat to win.
"They told us that the district was too Republican," Laubacher said.
Kyle Saunders, a Colorado State University political science professor, said the results are far from what political analysts anticipated heading into Election Day.
"This is a pretty safe district, and most of the ratings folks had it at likely R, so for this seat to have been challenged, this had to be quite a blue wave, if not a blue tsunami," Saunders said.
"I'm not sure Boebert or the Republicans were prepared for that challenge," he added.
At her election night watch party, Boebert acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding the race but told supporters she was not ready to give up.
"This isn't the first time I've had to wait. I know a waiting game," Boebert said.
She also reminded supporters that ballots were still being counted and urged them not to give up hope.
"Listen, y'all don't start trying to sell your houses and move to Florida just yet. OK, we still got to count some ballots here," Boebert said.
"We are winning all but three counties right now, and we'll see. We'll see," she added.
Saunders said Boebert's association with President Donald Trump could be one factor contributing to the unexpectedly competitive race. However, he said the results also point to an energized Democratic electorate and potentially lower Republican turnout.
"Part of it points to Boebert being part of the problem, but then you also have this really energized Democratic electorate, as well as this idea that a lot of Republicans seem to have stayed home," Saunders said.
Laubacher said her campaign was able to connect with voters who previously supported Republicans or had become disengaged from politics.
"Republicans who had never voted for a Democrat before opened their doors and they listened to us. Independents who had given up on politics decided to give it another chance," Laubacher said.
Despite Laubacher's lead, Saunders cautioned that enough ballots remain outstanding to potentially change the outcome.
He believes Boebert will narrow the gap as additional votes are counted but ultimately predicted she'll fall short of winning reelection.
For now, the race remains unsettled, with the outcome of Colorado's 4th Congressional District still dependent on the remaining ballots.
