Recount confirms Boebert win in Colorado

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) officially clinched another term in the House on Monday after a recount confirmed her razor-thin victory in her reelection bid.

A tally of the vote showed Boebert defeating her Democratic opponent Adam Frisch by just 546 votes.

While the narrow margin in the race triggered a mandatory recount under Colorado state law, Frisch, a conservative Democrat, conceded to Boebert last month, acknowledging that the recount was highly unlikely to swing the outcome of the contest.

Boebert’s victory adds one more seat to Republicans’ newly won House majority. Still, the race was unexpectedly close, given the heavy GOP tilt of Colorado’s 3rd District. Former President Trump carried the area in 2020 by roughly 8 percentage points.

Boebert has found herself at the center of multiple controversies since first being elected to Congress two years ago, including her apparent support for the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory.

Despite the GOP’s advantage in Colorado’s 3rd District, Frisch gained a narrow lead in the vote count, fueling Democratic hopes they may be able to flip a Republican-held seat in a tough political environment. 

But Frisch’s lead collapsed in the days following the election. Boebert ultimately finished on top in the initial tally, but only by a fraction of a percentage point. Under state law, an automatic recount is triggered if the margin in a race is half a percentage point or less of the top vote-getter’s total.

Frisch also made clear that he did not believe the recount would change the outcome. In announcing his concession to Boebert last month, he urged supporters not to donate to his campaign during the recount. 

“Please save your money for your groceries, your rent, your children,” he said.