Lauren Boebert wants to ‘offer condolences’ to colleagues who won their races, saying on Capitol Hill that losing could be ‘almost liberating’

Lauren Boebert says losing her election could be “almost liberating,” even as she is not ready to concede her race. Speaking to TMZ on Capitol Hill, she joked about colleagues who won their races, saying she wants to “offer condolences” to some of them.

The comments came as Democrat Eileen Laubacher declared victory on Monday in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District. As reported by The Denver Post, Laubacher, a retired Navy rear admiral, holds a 48.8% to 47.9% lead, a margin just under 1 percentage point that is not close enough to trigger an automatic recount.

More than 98% of votes in the district have been counted, with a small number of ballots remaining, including military and overseas votes. CNN has projected Laubacher as the winner, though the Associated Press had not called the race as of Monday evening, The Colorado Sun reported.

Boebert isn’t giving up on the remaining ballots just yet

Boebert insists “the fat lady ain’t sung yet,” pointing to thousands of ballots still being counted. She said that if those ballots change the outcome, then so be it, and if they do not, she will accept the results.

In a video on social media, Boebert said “CNN and the Democrats” had called the race prematurely, noting that votes are still left to be counted or “cured” of signature discrepancies. She compared declaring victory now to “icing a cake before it comes out of the oven.”

Boebert also said, “We’ll make sure every eligible vote is counted and that every single voice is heard before we take any next steps.” She did not repeat vague claims of possible voting irregularities that a campaign attorney had made last week.

Laubacher was in Washington, D.C., on Monday for new member orientation while the remaining votes were still being counted. Adam Frisch, another Democratic opponent of Boebert’s, did the same in 2022 while more than 1,000 votes behind her, and he ultimately lost that election.

Laubacher said, “The way we won this race is the way I intend to continue serving the people, which is going everywhere, talking a little bit and listening a lot.” She added that it is now up to her to “deliver for people and make the changes that are going to improve their lives.”

Laubacher is a former Republican who only recently became a Democrat, and she moved to Highlands Ranch with her husband two years ago. She told a local publication in October that she is “a very moderate person” and has “never been a straight-party ticket voter.” She said she would work with anyone to pass “meaningful legislation,” such as rolling back President Donald Trump’s tariffs, ending the war in Iran, and “cracking down on corruption.”

The 4th District is the most Republican-leaning of Colorado’s eight congressional districts, and voters there have put a Democrat in the seat only once in the last 53 years. The race comes amid what many are calling a “blue wave” that hit President Trump’s coalition last week.

Boebert moved to Windsor in the 4th District two years ago after nearly losing her seat in the Western Slope’s 3rd Congressional District. She came to prominence in 2019 as the owner of the now-defunct Shooters Grill in Rifle, where staff carried guns, and went on to beat longtime Republican incumbent Scott Tipton in the GOP primary.

In September 2023, she was removed from a performance of “Beetlejuice” at Denver’s Buell Theatre after patrons complained about her vaping and filming the show. She apologized, but her standing with 3rd District constituents had fallen far enough that she chose to move to the more conservative 4th District.

During her time in Congress, Boebert helped shepherd a bipartisan endangered fish recovery reauthorization into law, and then-President Joe Biden signed her CONVEY Act. After Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, she was a reliable ally, though she pushed to have the Epstein files released, something the president initially resisted.

She also criticized Trump’s decision in late 2025 to veto a bipartisan rural water bill that would have brought clean water to 50,000 residents in southeast Colorado. Trump posted on Truth Social in May urging people to run against Boebert, calling her “weak-minded” and a “carpetbagger,” but he endorsed her three days before the election as “a MAGA Warrior.”

Libertarian candidate Doug Mangeris received more than 12,600 votes, well above the 3,352 votes separating Boebert and Laubacher. Mangeris, who said he put few resources into his campaign, prefers Boebert to Laubacher but said she “took it for granted that she wouldn’t lose such a reliably Republican district.”

Elsewhere in Colorado, Republican Rep. Gabe Evans lost the 8th District to Democrat Manny Rutinel, and Democrat Jessica Killin won the 5th District against Rep. Jeff Crank, while Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd was declared the winner of the 3rd District. Officials will continue counting the remaining ballots, including military and overseas votes, until Friday.