MAGA-aligned Republican Lauren Boebert has been defeated in her re-election bid, losing Colorado’s 4th Congressional District to Democrat Eileen Laubacher in a closely fought contest marked by years of controversy surrounding her time in office.
The Associated Press called the race more than a week after the midterm elections, as Democrats rode a nationwide “bluenami” to a series of major victories.
With 99 percent of the vote counted, Laubacher held a narrow lead of just over 3,000 ballots. She received 49.8 percent compared with Boebert’s 47.9 percent.
Boebert’s campaign refused to concede immediately, saying it was examining “unusual voter patterns” and would continue fighting for every ballot.
Although Boebert has remained a close ally of Donald Trump, she has occasionally broken with the former president. After the Republican losses, she pointed to Trump’s war on Iran as one possible explanation for the party’s poor performance.
In a local interview last week, Boebert said her main conclusion from the GOP’s sweeping defeats was simple: “You don’t start endless wars.”
“That’s a big one. I mean, I’ve been frustrated about the Iran war. There was nothing I could do individually to stop what was happening there,” she added.
The result was especially striking because Boebert had carried the district by 11.6 percentage points in 2024.
The Cook Political Report had rated the seat as leaning Republican, placing the contest among the races expected to draw close attention on election night.
The Colorado Republican, one of the most recognizable figures in Trump’s political movement, lost her re-election bid to Democratic challenger Eileen Laubacher in the state’s 4th Congressional District
Boebert’s defeat represents a dramatic reversal for a politician once seen as nearly inseparable from the Republican Party’s populist wing
Controversy frequently followed Boebert during her years in Congress
During the campaign, Laubacher, a retired Navy rear admiral, attacked Boebert over her opposition to war powers resolutions designed to limit military action in Iran.
Boebert’s defeat marks a stunning turnaround for a politician who once seemed firmly embedded in the Republican Party’s populist movement.
Her congressional career was repeatedly overshadowed by controversy. In 2023, she was removed from a Denver theater during a performance of Beetlejuice after being accused of vaping and engaging in inappropriate sexual behavior.
She later apologized for her conduct.
The congresswoman also faced questions about her campaign finances, her contentious divorce from Jayson Boebert and her decision to leave Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District for the more Republican-friendly 4th District in 2024.
Her 21-year-old son Tyler, one of her four children, recently accepted a plea deal in a child abuse case that would require him to serve 30 days in jail.
He faced a misdemeanor charge of child abuse without injury after allegedly leaving his two-year-old son unattended at his mother’s home in Windsor, Colorado, in February. The child, Josiah, was found wandering away from the family’s house near a lake.
According to court documents, Tyler later agreed to plead guilty to charges of child abuse and negligence without injury under a deal offered by the Weld County District Attorney’s Office.
Another controversy emerged in September, when Boebert was the subject of a sworn complaint filed with the House Ethics Committee alleging that she had sexual relationships with three current and former congressional staff members.
The complaint, submitted by activist David Wheeler, claimed that Boebert had an affair with a former senior aide and arranged a $200,000 payment to keep the aide silent after the alleged relationship ended.
It also alleged that she had inappropriate relationships with two other members of her congressional staff.
The accusations raised questions about whether Boebert had breached House ethics rules concerning relationships between lawmakers and staff, as well as the use of campaign and congressional funds.
Boebert strongly denied the allegations, calling them politically motivated and “utterly false.” The former aide named in the complaint also rejected the claims and described them as defamatory.
The House Ethics Committee had not announced whether it would open an investigation.
Boebert’s district was not the only Colorado battleground to attract national attention.
Boebert first won a seat in the House in 2021
In Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, Democrat Manny Rutinel captured the seat after defeating Republican incumbent Gabe Evans.
Republican Congressman Jeff Crank also faced a strong challenge from Democrat Jessica Killin in the 5th District, while Republican Jeff Hurd defended his seat against Democrat Dwayne Romero in the 3rd District.
Following a punishing night for Republicans, Democrats took overall control of the House and could secure at least 258 seats. They also won control of the Senate after flipping several seats across the country.