Campaign

Boebert takes lead in Colorado House race

by Mychael Schnell - 11/10/22 12:58 PM ET

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) has taken the lead in the race for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, edging ahead of Democratic challenger Adam Frisch with 97 percent of the vote in.

Boebert had taken a lead of 794 votes just after 4 p.m. Thursday. (The graphic below will provide the latest vote count.)

Boebert, a freshman lawmaker vying for her second term representing part of the Centennial State, is leading Frisch, a local businessman who served on the Aspen City Council, by 433 votes, with two percent of ballots still outstanding.

On Thursday morning, Frisch had a 64 vote edge over Boebert.

A recount is triggered in Colorado if the final margin in the race is less than or equal to half a percentage point.

Just before 2 p.m. EST on Thursday, Boebert had a 0.2 percent edge.

The race between Boebert and Frisch has tightened since polls closed on Tuesday and Frisch quickly opened up a commanding advantage. Boebert has narrowed the gap since then, and took the lead on Thursday.

A spokesperson for Boebert’s campaign said the shift came from a ballot drop from Otero County, which has broken for Boebert over Frisch thus far, 59 percent to 41 percent.

Ballots in other counties still need to be counted, including in Pueblo County, according to both campaigns. The area is a Democratic stronghold that has opted for Frisch over Boebert in the race by a margin of 54 percent to 46 percent.

There are also uncounted votes in Mesa and Montrose counties, both of which have broken for Boebert, per her campaign.

And in a statement Thursday afternoon, Frisch said military and overseas ballots still have to be counted.

“Everyone in this district deserves to have their voice heard, regardless of political affiliation, and I am confident that each and every valid ballot will be counted,” he said. “In particular, we must honor and respect those who serve our country by ensuring that every military ballot is taken into account.”

Boebert told reporters in Washington, D.C., on Thursday “of course I expect to win” when asked if she thinks she will secure a victory.

The razor-thin Colorado contest has emerged as something of a “sleeper race” this cycle, drawing virtually no attention on the national stage until Election Day.

Boebert, a freshman lawmaker, has drawn headlines throughout her two years in Congress for supporting Trump’s election fraud claims, refusing to wear a mask on the House floor, and joking that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a Muslim, might be a suicide bomber. The congresswoman has also been accused of being a QAnon follower, which she denies.

“Just a shout out to my Dad who lives in her district and told me last month [Boebert] could lose and I didn’t believe him,” former White House press secretary Jen Psaki wrote on Twitter, adding in a separate message that the race is “huge.”

The campaigns on the ground, however, were not fazed by the close contest.

Frisch — a local businessman who served in the Aspen City Council — said he studied CD-3’s electoral history and recognized that he could win over a coalition large enough to pick off Boebert.

“Lauren Boebert received 51 percent of the vote in 2020, she did not win her home county, those that know her don’t care for her and a lot more people know her now that did before,” Frisch said.

Colorado’s 3rd District voted for Trump over Biden in the 2020 presidential election, 51.6 percent to 46.1 percent. The firebrand congresswoman won her election by a similar margin that year, defeating her Democratic challenger 51.4 percent to 45.2 percent.

“I thought that if a pro-business, moderate Democrat could get by the Democratic primary … I could build this coalition, and that’s what we did,” Frisch said.

“So am I surprised? No,” he added.

Boebert’s campaign, for their part, also didn’t expect her to glide to reelection.

“We certainly didn’t think it was gonna be a blowout,” Stout said, noting that Frisch has advertised himself as a right-leaning candidate throughout the cycle.

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Asked about the race in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, Boebert pointed to the state’s elections for governor and Senate, where both Democratic incumbents — Gov. Jared Polis and Sen. Michael Bennet — skated to reelection.

“I don’t know if there wasn’t enough enthusiasm for our top-ticket candidates for governor and Senate, or what happened there, but there was a lot of shifting in the votes there,” she said.

Emily Brooks contributed. Updated at 4:21 p.m.