Eileen Laubacher Unseats Lauren Boebert in Colorado House Race
WHO:
CBS News - Laubacher was a former Republican who changed her party affiliation and described herself as a “common-sense candidate.”
CBS News Politics - Democrat Eileen Laubacher defeated incumbent Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert.
NBC News Politics - Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert was projected to lose re-election to Congress in Colorado.
NBC News - Laubacher is a retired Navy rear admiral and Afghanistan war veteran who served on the National Security Council in the Biden administration.
NBC News - Boebert is a Republican representative from Colorado and was described as a conservative firebrand.
NBC News - Boebert previously worked as a gun-rights activist and owned Shooters Grill in Rifle, Colorado.
NBC News - Boebert became a vocal defender of Donald Trump in Washington after defeating Rep. Scott Tipton, a Colorado Republican, in the 2020 GOP primary.
NBC News - In November 2025, Boebert joined three other Republicans and Democrats in signing a discharge petition to force a vote on releasing the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files.
NBC News - Trump threatened to rescind his endorsement of Boebert and called her “dumb” and “weak-minded”; he did not rescind it.
NBC News - Boebert apologized in 2021 after a video showed her suggesting Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, had been mistaken for a terrorist in a Capitol elevator; Omar said the described elevator encounter never happened.
NBC News - In 2022, Boebert and then-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, heckled President Joe Biden during his State of the Union address and tried to start a “build the wall” chant. Greene later called Boebert “a little b----” on the House floor.
NBC News - In 2023, Boebert and her date were escorted out of a Denver performance of “Beetlejuice”; they were alleged to have vaped, taken photos and engaged in other disruptive behavior.
WHAT:
CBS News - Laubacher said her priorities included keeping costs down, fighting corruption, and improving rural healthcare access.
CBS News - Laubacher attended the first day of New Member Orientation for the 120th Congress at the U.S. Capitol.
CBS News - A Weld County judge granted Boebert a temporary protection order against David Wheeler, who she said was spreading lies about her and her staff. Wheeler alleged Boebert had sexual relationships with three staff members and arranged a $200,000 payment to a former aide to keep the alleged involvement quiet.
CBS News - Boebert had no challenger in the primary election.
CBS News Politics - CBS News projected Laubacher’s victory over Boebert in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District.
NBC News Politics - NBC News projected Boebert would lose her re-election race.
NBC News - With more than 95% of ballots counted, Boebert had 47.9% of the vote and Laubacher had 48.7%, according to the Associated Press.
NBC News - Boebert won re-election in Colorado’s 3rd District by 546 votes in 2022, then switched to the 4th District in 2024 and won re-election more easily.
NBC News - Boebert said after the election, “There was a lot of money dumped on my head,” and blamed the Senate for failing to pass many House-approved Republican bills.
NBC News - Laubacher told supporters, “Integrity matters. Character matters. Truth matters, and public service should always be about what you can do for other people, not what you do for yourself. Those things were worth fighting for when we started.”
WHERE:
CBS News - Colorado’s 4th Congressional District includes the state’s eastern third, part of Douglas County south of Denver, and Loveland in Northern Colorado.
CBS News Politics - The race was for Colorado’s 4th Congressional District.
NBC News - Boebert’s earlier congressional race was in Colorado’s 3rd District; her later race was in the 4th District.
NBC News - Boebert owned Shooters Grill in Rifle, Colorado.
NBC News - The “Beetlejuice” performance took place in Denver, Colorado.
WHY:
NBC News - The article attributed Boebert’s defeat to an “anti-Trump blue tsunami” during the midterm elections, which it said swept her and other Republican incumbents out of office.
NBC News - Boebert opposed Trump’s position on releasing the Epstein files and supported Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, after Trump vowed to unseat Massie.
HOW:
CBS News - The final vote tally came more than a week after Election Day; CBS News projected the race 10 days after Election Day, when the candidates were separated by 1% of the vote.
NBC News - Laubacher’s victory was reported as an NBC News projection; CBS News also projected her defeat of Boebert.
NBC News - The Associated Press vote figures were reported when more than 95% of ballots had been counted.
(UPDATED November 13, 2026 22:59 UTC)
Democrat Eileen Laubacher defeated Republican Lauren Boebert in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District race. Laubacher, a retired Navy rear admiral, previously served on President Biden’s National Security Council. She campaigned on lowering costs, fighting corruption, and improving rural healthcare access.
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(UPDATED November 13, 2026 21:03 UTC)
Democrat Eileen Laubacher defeated Republican Lauren Boebert in Colorado’s fourth congressional district. Networks projected Laubacher’s victory as vote counting neared completion. A retired Navy rear admiral, Laubacher served on the Biden administration’s National Security Council.