Lauren Boebert vanquished: Colorado voters oust one of Congress’s loudest bigots

Colorado voters have defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, removing from Congress one of its most relentless antagonists of LGBTQ+ people. Boebert had turned opposition to equality into a national political brand.Democrat Eileen Laubacher, a retired Navy rear admiral, will defeat Boebert in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, according to CNN’s projection Monday afternoon. Laubacher led 48.77 percent to 47.92 percent.The defeat followed days of uncertainty. By Friday morning, three days after the election, Laubacher led by 3,069 votes, or 0.81 percentage points. More than 97 percent of the estimated vote had been tallied, and The Associated Press had not called the race. Boebert’s campaign attorney, Scott Gessler, alleged “unusual voting patterns” and anticipated a recount, but did not explain the allegation when Colorado Politics asked.Related: Lauren Boebert involved in physical fight with ex-husband in Colorado restaurantBoebert had already moved districts once to improve her prospects. After surviving her 2022 reelection by 546 votes in western Colorado’s 3rd District, she switched to the more heavily Republican 4th District for 2024 and won. This time, that refuge did not hold.Her record included attacking the Equality Act, which would expand federal LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination protections, as “supremacy of gays and lesbians and transvestites.” Her own public conduct drew scrutiny in September 2023, when she was removed from a Denver performance of “Beetlejuice”. Surveillance footage showed Boebert and her date groping each other, along with her vaping and taking flash photographs. She subsequently apologized.Related: Homophobe Lauren Boebert to Run in Different District After Groping Scandal and Lackluster FundraisingHer targeting of transgender people continued inside Congress. In January 2025, Boebert mistakenly identified a cisgender woman as Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride of Delaware, the first out transgender member of Congress.