Overview:
Eileen Laubacher defeated Lauren Boebert in Colorado’s 4th District, flipping the longtime Republican seat.
The Associated Press called Colorado’s 4th Congressional District race Friday, Nov. 13, for Democrat Eileen Laubacher, ending Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert’s six-year congressional career. As of Friday afternoon, Laubacher held about 48.8% of the vote to Boebert’s 47.9%. The retired Navy rear admiral becomes the first Democrat to represent the district in 18 years.
The result is a major upset in what has long been considered Colorado’s most reliably Republican congressional district. The 4th stretches across the Eastern Plains and includes parts of Douglas, Weld and Larimer counties. Her victory was powered in part by strong support in Douglas County and came amid a broader Democratic wave across Colorado and the country.
Laubacher and Boebert clashed in a fiery Oct. 14 debate, where Laubacher criticized Boebert’s continued support for President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the war in Iran. Boebert, meanwhile, questioned Laubacher’s patriotism and integrity.
Laubacher was previously a registered Republican before switching to unaffiliated in 2024. She ran this year as a moderate Democrat, supporting stronger border security and a ban on members of Congress trading individual stocks. During the Oct. 14 debate, Laubacher also said she would not spend her first two years in office pursuing Trump’s impeachment.
Boebert had represented Colorado’s 3rd District before moving into the more Republican 4th District ahead of the 2024 election. She won that seat two years ago, but Laubacher’s victory now flips it back to Democrats for the first time since Betsy Markey won in 2008.
Story updated by Toni Tresca, Bucket List Community News editor
