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Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert lost Colorado's 4th Congressional District to Democrat Eileen Laubacher, according to an AP projection, ending her time in Congress after three terms.
Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert will lose her seat in Congress to Democrat Eileen Laubacher in Colorado's 4th Congressional District, The Associated Press projected on Friday, November 13, 2026, according to ABC News. With 99% of the expected vote reported, Laubacher led with 48.8% of the vote, followed by Boebert's 47.9%. Laubacher led by around 3,400 votes when the AP made its projection.
The race was too close to call on election night last week, but after every vote was counted the Democrat Eileen Laubacher was declared the winner by the AP news agency, according to the BBC. It means Boebert, who was one of the most vocal conservatives in the House of Representatives, will not serve a fourth term.
In a post on X, Boebert said she had called Laubacher and offered her congratulations. As for her future, she told her followers to "Stay tuned!", according to ABC News.
Boebert, 39, first gained national attention in 2019 as a gun rights advocate when she challenged then-Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke over his pledge to pursue gun control measures, according to ABC News. She was first elected in 2020 to represent Colorado's 3rd Congressional District and won re-election by less than 600 votes in 2022. Two years later, she opted to run in the 4th District and won a third term.
Laubacher retired from the Navy as an admiral after 34 years of service and was senior director for South Asia on the National Security Council during President Joe Biden's administration. She is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, according to ABC News. The BBC describes her as a Navy veteran who retired in 2024 as a two-star rear admiral.
Her time on Capitol Hill was highlighted by two attempts to impeach President Joe Biden, as she had been one of President Donald Trump's fiercest defenders in Congress before breaking with his administration last year over a discharge petition to force the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, according to ABC News. She was one of four Republicans who signed it, joining Reps. Thomas Massie, who co-sponsored the petition with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, Nancy Mace and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Boebert also drew the ire of Hillary Clinton for leaking photos of the former Secretary of State when she sat for a closed-door transcribed interview in the House Oversight Committee's Epstein inquiry, according to ABC News.
The BBC reports that Boebert rose to national fame as one of Donald Trump's biggest cheerleaders and was one of the faces of Trump's "Make America Great Again" - or MAGA - movement when she burst onto the Colorado political scene at the end of 2019. She first made headlines when she encouraged staff at her restaurant Shooters, located in a small Colorado town named Rifle, to openly carry firearms. Her rallies focused on gun rights and fighting Democrats, fighting the establishment, fighting illegal immigration or fighting anyone or anything that could be deemed "woke".
Once in Congress, Boebert garnered constant airtime with her aggressive pro-Trump rhetoric. Along with fellow political provocateurs like Marjorie Taylor Greene, she established herself as one of the most outspoken MAGA cheerleaders. Perhaps most notably, she joined Greene in heckling President Joe Biden during his 2022 State of the Union address, according to the BBC.
Boebert's loss ends her congressional career after three terms and means she will not serve a fourth term. Laubacher's victory adds to Democratic gains in the 2026 midterms. The BBC notes that like several other Democrats who have emerged victorious after the 2026 midterms, Laubacher's win is as much about her qualities as a candidate - she was a former Republican with strong appeal to middle-ground voters - as it was a rebuke of Boebert's time in office.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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