# CO-04 — 2026 U.S. House Race ## Result > [!success] Called: Eileen Laubacher (D) wins, a Democratic pickup > CNN's decision desk projected on the afternoon of November 9, 2026, that Democrat [[Eileen Laubacher]] had defeated Republican Rep. [[Lauren Boebert]]. The Associated Press had not called the race as of November 11. In the AP's count as of the evening of November 9, Laubacher had 186,199 votes (48.8%) to Boebert's 182,847 (47.9%), a margin of 3,352, with Libertarian Douglas Mangeris at 3.3% and about 98% of the vote counted; these figures are unofficial until Colorado certifies the result ([HuffPost via Yahoo News](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/lauren-boebert-takes-swipe-cnn-032530778.html), [Breitbart](https://www.breitbart.com/midterm-election/2026/11/10/rep-lauren-boebert-refuses-concede-as-colorado-house-race-remains-uncalled-ap/), [KDVR via AOL](https://www.aol.com/articles/democrat-eileen-laubacher-claims-victory-000135000.html)). Live coverage: [[2026 Midterms Live - Election Results War Room]]. Laubacher declared victory on November 9. "To those who voted for me, thank you, I will strive to make you proud," she wrote (KDVR). Boebert had not conceded as of November 11. "The votes aren't in. So why would I concede if the votes aren't all in?" she told Scripps News, and she said she hoped to have all cured, military and overseas ballots counted by Friday, November 13 ([KKTV](https://kktv.com/2026/11/11/lauren-boebert-says-she-wont-run-again-2028-if-she-loses-colorados-4th-congressional-district-race), [Breitbart](https://www.breitbart.com/midterm-election/2026/11/10/rep-lauren-boebert-refuses-concede-as-colorado-house-race-remains-uncalled-ap/)). Scripps reported that she does not plan to run for the seat again in 2028 if Laubacher's win holds. Her campaign attorney, Scott Gessler, said the campaign would "support the lawful counting and certification of every eligible ballot before taking any further steps"; the week before, he had said the campaign expected the race to head to a recount (KDVR). Colorado recounts a race automatically only when the margin is within 0.5% of the winner's vote total, KDVR reported; a candidate can request a recount outside that range but must pay for it. ## Why it matters The 4th District is the most Republican district in Colorado ([KUNC](https://www.kunc.org/news/2026-11-04/lauren-boebert-in-big-fight-to-keep-her-seat-in-congress-in-too-close-to-call-race), [Deseret News](https://www.deseret.com/politics/2026/10/14/lauren-boebert-faces-former-republican-veteran-eileen-laubacher-in-states-most-red-congressional-district)). [[Donald Trump]] carried it by about 18 points in 2024, and Boebert won it that year by about 12 ([Colorado Politics](https://www.coloradopolitics.com/2026/11/05/democrat-eileen-laubacher-leads-lauren-boebert-in-colorados-4th-cd/), [KDVR via AOL](https://www.aol.com/articles/democrat-eileen-laubacher-claims-victory-000135000.html)). A loss there would end the House career of one of the best-known members of the Republican Party's confrontational wing, in a seat Republicans had treated as safe. Boebert moved to the 4th District in 2024 after nearly losing her old seat: in 2022 she held Colorado's 3rd District by 546 votes over Democrat Adam Frisch (KUNC, KDVR). In 2026 Laubacher led in the district's more populous suburban counties, the New York Times reported ([Boston.com](https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2026/11/06/live-results-right-wing-firebrand-lauren-boebert-is-locked-in-a-close-race/)). ## The candidates **[[Lauren Boebert]]** (R), first elected in 2020, was seeking a fourth term. Her 2026 cycle was shaped by a public break with Trump. After she backed Rep. [[Thomas Massie]], Trump said he would welcome a primary challenger to her and called her "dumb" ([Axios](https://www.axios.com/local/arapahoe/2026/07/01/laubacher-colorado-4th-district-primary), [KUNC](https://www.kunc.org/news/2026-11-04/lauren-boebert-in-big-fight-to-keep-her-seat-in-congress-in-too-close-to-call-race)). By then Colorado's March 18 filing deadline had passed, and Boebert faced no primary opponent ([Colorado Politics](https://www.coloradopolitics.com/2026/07/01/boebert-heads-to-november-election-after-trump-called-for-primary-challenge/)). Trump endorsed her again shortly before the election (Colorado Politics, Boston.com). The [[Freedom Caucus Fund]] reported about $364,000 in independent spending supporting her. **[[Eileen Laubacher]]** (D) is a retired Navy rear admiral from Highlands Ranch and a Naval Academy graduate who served for more than 30 years, including a 2009 deployment to Afghanistan and three years as the U.S. defense attaché in India, before serving on the [[National Security Council]] under President Joe Biden ([Deseret News](https://www.deseret.com/politics/2026/10/14/lauren-boebert-faces-former-republican-veteran-eileen-laubacher-in-states-most-red-congressional-district), [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eileen_Laubacher)). A former Republican, she became unaffiliated and then registered as a Democrat to run (Deseret News, KUNC). It was her first campaign for office. She won the June 30 Democratic primary with about 99% of the vote over a write-in candidate (Axios, [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Colorado%27s_4th_Congressional_District_election,_2026_(June_30_Democratic_primary))). ## The campaign Laubacher ran on ending Trump's tariffs, middle-class tax cuts, rural hospitals and fighting corruption, and attacked the Medicaid cuts in the 2025 tax-and-spending law, the [[Big Beautiful Bill]], and the Iran war (Boston.com, KUNC). In their debate Boebert accused Laubacher, without evidence, of ties to several Biden-administration controversies, which Laubacher disputed (KUNC). Laubacher far outraised the incumbent: Ballotpedia, citing federal filings, put her receipts at about $13.7 million through October 14, and Colorado Politics reported Boebert had raised about $1.2 million. Outside spending was modest by the standard of the cycle's battlegrounds, about $1.5 million against Boebert and $600,000 for her, according to Colorado Politics. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added the seat to its list of districts in play on August 5, 2026 ([Colorado Politics](https://www.coloradopolitics.com/2026/08/05/national-house-democrats-add-colorado-seats-held-by-lauren-boebert-jeff-hurd-to-target-list/), KUNC). Forecasters rated the seat safely Republican through the summer and moved it to Lean Republican in the last week of October (Colorado Politics, Deseret News, Ballotpedia). ## Key dates - 2026-06-30: primaries - 2026-11-03: general election - 2026-11-09: CNN projects Laubacher the winner; Laubacher declares victory - 2026-11-13: date by which Boebert said she expected all cured, military and overseas ballots to be counted ## Connections - [[Lauren Boebert]] · [[Eileen Laubacher]] · [[Thomas Massie]] · [[Freedom Caucus Fund]] - Other Colorado House races: [[CO-05-2026]] · [[CO-08-2026]] - [[2026 House Races Hub]] · [[2026 Midterms Hub]]