OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert is likely on pins and needles as she awaits the results of what turned out to be an extremely competitive reelection bid. As of Wednesday, Boebert was leading Democratic challenger Adam Frisch by a thin margin of just 1,122 votes, according to reports.
Political analysis site FiveThirtyEight had given Boebert a 97-percent chance of holding the seat in its last election update on Nov. 8, Election Day. The seat has traditionally been red, but it became much more competitive after redistricting following the 2020 Census.
“Frisch has 160,918 votes, or 49.83 percent, versus 162,040 votes and 50.17 percent for Boebert, as of Monday afternoon, when the last update was given,” Newsweek reported, adding:
More results are expected to be announced on Wednesday, while counting must finish on Friday at the latest, according to Colorado’s election calendar. County canvassing boards must release their final results by November 30, though if the winning margin is less than 0.5 percent, there will be an automatic recount, with the result not announced till mid-December. Wednesday is a key date, marking the deadline for both military and overseas votes to come in, and for problem ballots to be “cured.”
The Republican lawmaker’s battle against Frisch is so close, in fact, it likely will come down to a recount, though Boebert is maintaining a slight lead.
According to The Associated Press, she was up by around 1,100 votes late Saturday afternoon, leading with 50.17% of the vote to Frisch’s 49.83%. Under Colorado election law, victories of less than a half-percent trigger a mandatory recount, which could take another several weeks, as they must be conducted within 35 days of the general election, meaning by Dec. 13.
Earlier, the Colorado Republican assured her supporters she’s going to get the opportunity to help “fire” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“There’s no doubt I was a target for the Democrats, but I am confident once all of the ballots are counted, I will win, and I will be there to help fire Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House,” she said.
“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 of the votes there,” she added. “Of course, I expect to win.
“I think Polis and Bennet definitely carried the ticket for the Democrat Party,” she said of Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis and Democratic Sen. Michael Bennett.
During her term in Congress, Boebert has developed a reputation for sharp rebukes of Dems and going toe-to-toe with some of the party’s most acerbic figures, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)
Last month, for example, she trolled “AOC” with a new nuclear nickname after both took verbal potshots at each other again when the latter was brutally heckled during a town hall-style event in New York City.
A video clip of the New York Democrat being confronted by a man in the audience at the event went viral after he accused her of becoming just another member of the Washington political establishment over her support for providing assistance in the form of tens of billions of dollars in military aid and funding to Ukraine.
“None of this matters unless there’s a nuclear war, which you voted to send arms and weapons to Ukraine. You ran as an outsider, yet you’ve been voting to start this war in Ukraine,” one man loudly exclaimed.
“You’re voting to start a third nuclear war with Russia and China. Why are you playing with the lives of American citizens? Tulsi Gabbard has shown guts where you’ve shown cowardice!” he added. “I believed in you, and you became the very thing you sought to fight against. That’s what you’ve become. You are the establishment!”
My friend @Noggatone and I confronted Congresswoman @AOC on her support for Nuclear War and Ukrainian Nazis. I call her out for being a coward in the face of the party that will push us all into Nuclear war right now. Will she stand up like @TulsiGabbard and fight for peace? pic.twitter.com/aQiQvQSWIN
— Jose Vega — Vote Diane Sare! (@JosBtrigga) October 13, 2022
That video led Boebert to respond on Twitter: “On the rare occasions that @AOC actually spends time with her constituents, she is reminded that she has sold them out at every turn. She campaigned as an outsider and has now just morphed into #SandyPelosi!” the feisty Republican lawmaker wrote, tossing in the nickname.
