Lauren Boebert loses Colorado's 4th District to Democrat Eileen Laubacher and concedes

Rep. Lauren Boebert, one of the best-known Republicans in Congress, has lost her seat. Democrat Eileen Laubacher, a retired Navy rear admiral, won Colorado's 4th Congressional District, and Boebert conceded on Friday, November 13, after news organizations including the Associated Press called the race.

It's a big upset in a district Republicans have held since 2011, and it says a lot about this election year. Here's what happened and why it matters.

The result

With almost 99% of the vote counted, the AP tally on Friday afternoon was:

• Eileen Laubacher (D): 187,745 votes, 48.8%
• Lauren Boebert (R): 184,220 votes, 47.9%
• Douglas Mangeris (Libertarian): 12,742 votes, 3.3%

That's a margin of about 3,500 votes. The results still have to be certified by Colorado election officials, but with the race called and Boebert's concession, the outcome isn't in doubt.

Notice the Libertarian number. Mangeris got almost four times the gap between the two front-runners. In a close race, a third-party candidate on the right can make the difference.

Boebert concedes

Boebert waited more than a week after Election Day, saying she wanted every vote counted first. On Friday evening she posted a video saying she had called Laubacher to congratulate her and concede.

"Thank you for the honor of a lifetime," she told voters. She added that "the people of our district are more important than party politics," and warned: "This is not the last you'll be hearing from me."

That's how it should work. You count the votes, and when the count is clear, you concede and move on. Boebert did that.

Who Eileen Laubacher is

Laubacher spent 34 years in the Navy and retired as a rear admiral. Her path to the Democratic Party is unusual. She was a registered Republican until 2024, became unaffiliated, and joined the Democrats in 2025, saying the GOP had become "nearly unrecognizable," according to The Center Square.

She calls herself a moderate Democrat and has criticized progressive ideas like Medicare for All. She ran on "lower costs, protect healthcare, strengthen rural communities." She called her win "historic" and said she answers to the people of the 4th District, not a party.

Her nomination wasn't smooth. A fellow Democrat and the state party chair went to court arguing she hadn't been a registered Democrat long enough to run. A Denver judge denied their request in March, and her rival later dropped out.

Who Lauren Boebert is

Boebert was first elected in 2020 in Colorado's 3rd District, on the Western Slope. She won re-election there narrowly in 2022, then switched to the more Republican-leaning 4th District in 2024 and won it. She became one of the most recognizable conservative voices in the House, and one of the most outspoken.

Losing the 4th, a mostly rural district on Colorado's Eastern Plains that Republicans have held for 15 years, is a sharp turn. The last Democrat to hold it was Betsy Markey, who served from 2009 to 2011.

What it means for the House

Every seat counts in a closely divided House, and this is one that Republicans would normally expect to keep. Democrats are set to control the House when the new Congress starts in January, and flipping a district like this one is part of how they got there.

It also fits a pattern this year: candidates who presented themselves as moderate, practical and focused on costs did well, including in places that usually vote the other way. Laubacher's military background and her criticism of the far left helped her appeal to independents and some Republicans.

What it means for you

If you live in the 4th District, you'll have a new representative in January. Laubacher has promised to focus on costs, health care and rural communities, the issues that matter most on the Eastern Plains, from farm prices to hospital access. It's fair to judge her on whether she delivers on those, not on party labels.

For everyone else, it's a reminder that every vote really does count. A race decided by about 3,500 votes out of more than 384,000 is the definition of close. Elections like this are why it's worth voting even when you think the outcome is a sure thing.

What to watch next

• Colorado's official certification of the results.
• Laubacher's committee assignments and first votes in January.
• What Boebert does next; she's made clear she isn't going away.