Eileen Laubacher led Lauren Boebert in Colorado's 4th Congressional District as votes were still being counted, and the race had not been called. Did Lauren Boebert lose? At that point, the answer was not final, even though Laubacher was ahead by a razor-thin margin.
The reported Laubacher at 48.75% and Boebert at 47.95%, with about 97% of the vote counted. That left about 3,000 votes between them, while Libertarian Party candidate Douglas Mangeris had 12,506 votes, or 3.3%.
Eileen Laubacher's 34-year career
Laubacher retired from the Navy in 2024 after 34 years of service, then registered as a Democrat in 2025. During a 9NEWS debate in October, she said, "I changed my party because my view of what the parties represented changed," and said the GOP had become "nearly unrecognizable."
She also told supporters at her election night watch party, "I could not be more proud of what we have accomplished," as returns showed her ahead in Colorado's 4th Congressional District.
Scott Gessler on recount risk
Scott Gessler, the attorney for Boebert's campaign, said the campaign was "fighting for every vote" and was "investigating some very unusual voting patterns and expect this election to head to a recount, one way or another." Boebert told supporters, "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" and said she would accept any result.
Laubacher won the seat in the 2024 general election with 53.6% of the vote, so the new count pointed to a possible flip in a district Boebert had already held. The final result was still unsettled while the remaining ballots were being counted, and a recount remained the next likely step if the margin stayed this close.
