OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, locked in an extremely tight reelection race, broke her silence on Friday to issue a warning to Democrats, of sorts.
In a statement, 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.
As of early Saturday, Boebert maintained a slight lead over her Democratic challenger, Adam Frisch, 50.17 percent to his 49.83 percent, with nearly 99 percent of precincts reporting. As per Colorado law, a mandatory recount must occur if the margin of victory is .5 percent or less; currently, Boebert is ahead by less than .4 percent.
“We need to be able to process the rest of the ballots, and then after that, we will do a bipartisan risk-limiting audit which confirms the results followed by a bipartisan canvas, and then, only then, do I certify the election and it’s determined whether we go into recount,” Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said Thursday. “We are a couple of weeks out from that determination.”
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 “AOC” 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!”
WATCH:
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.
Not one to back down from such exchanges, AOC fired back: “Hey Boebert, you seem to have us confused. I have attended and hosted hundreds of community events, hold regular town halls and don’t take a dime in corporate cash. You are bankrolled by corporate PACs Big Ag, and Oil. You are too scared to hold regular town halls open to all.”
Hey Boebert, you seem to have us confused.
I:
✅ have attended & hosted 100s of community events
✅ hold regular town halls
✅ don’t take a dime in corporate cashYou:
🚮 are bankrolled by corporate PACs, Big Ag, & Oil
🚮 are too scared to hold regular town halls open to all pic.twitter.com/A0jrRbyFDO— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 13, 2022
Boebert then responded to the Bronx Democrat telling her to “own” her ‘establishment’ label: “I notice you took a screenshot of my tweet instead of sharing the original one with the video of you getting completely ripped to shreds by your own constituents. I have governed as I campaigned. You sold out your supporters. Just own it. You’re the machine now.”
I notice you took a screenshot of my tweet instead of sharing the original one with the video of you getting completely ripped to shreds by your own constituents.
I have governed as I campaigned. You sold out your supporters.
Just own it. You’re the machine now. https://t.co/EQKRk4n5G2
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) October 14, 2022
