Rep. Lauren Boebert posted a video Friday night conceding her Colorado congressional race, saying she called Democrat Eileen Laubacher to congratulate her and promising to help Laubacher’s team with a peaceful transfer of power.
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“I said that we were going to wait until every vote [was] counted, and every voice in Colorado’s 4th district was heard,” Boebert said in the video. She said she told Laubacher on the call that “the people of our district are more important than party politics,” and that her office will pass along the constituent issues it is working on so Laubacher’s team can pick them up.
“Thank you for the honor of a lifetime,” Boebert told voters, calling the chance to represent communities across 21 counties “the privilege of my life.”
The Associated Press called the race for Laubacher on Friday. As of 2:56 p.m. Pacific time Friday, the AP count showed Laubacher with 187,745 votes, or 48.8 percent, and Boebert with 184,220 votes, or 47.9 percent, with an estimated 99 percent of votes counted. Those numbers could still change before the results are certified.
The concession came four days after Boebert refused to give one. CNN projected Laubacher the winner on Monday, and Boebert answered with a video on X. “CNN and the Democrats want to call my race and prematurely declare victory,” she said, reminding viewers that Colorado counties had until Nov. 13 to finish counting and curing ballots. Curing is the process that lets a voter fix a problem with their ballot, like a missing or mismatched signature, so it can still be counted. “Declaring victory now is like icing a cake before it comes out of the oven,” she said.
That same night, TMZ caught Lauren Boebert at the Capitol and asked about the projection. “Do you think I listen to CNN?” she said. “The fat lady hasn’t sung yet.”
Friday was the deadline for county clerks to finish counting eligible ballots, including cured, military and overseas ballots. By that evening, Boebert had conceded.
The results still have to be certified. Boebert could request a recount, though she may have to pay for it. Weld County Clerk Carly Koppes said recount requests are welcome and that she expects the outcome to hold.
Laubacher is a retired Navy admiral who served 34 years. She was a registered Republican until 2024, when she became unaffiliated, and she joined the Democratic Party in 2025. She declared victory Monday after CNN’s call. “Just because this election has been called, it doesn’t mean that people’s lives have gotten better overnight,” she said, pointing to high grocery, gas and diesel prices and how hard it is to find child care. In a statement posted online, she called her win historic but said “making history means nothing if we don’t make a difference.”
The 4th District is the most conservative district in Colorado and has long favored Republicans. Lauren Boebert first won a seat in Congress in 2020 representing Colorado’s 3rd District. She switched to the 4th in 2024 after nearly losing reelection in 2022, and this was her second campaign for the seat.
Leaving the Capitol on Monday, Boebert told TMZ the loss would not change her. “This job doesn’t define me,” she said. “Elections matter, but this doesn’t change who I am and what I do. I’m still going to be aggressive.”
