Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert Defeated in Midterms
Retired Navy officer Eileen Laubacher unseats the Republican incumbent in the state's 4th Congressional District.
By Samuel Hayes ·
Eileen Laubacher defeated Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., in the race for Colorado's 4th Congressional District. NBC News projected the result, marking the end of a six-year congressional career for the Republican lawmaker.
Laubacher is a retired Navy rear admiral and Afghanistan war veteran. She served on the National Security Council during the Biden administration. Speaking to supporters on election night, she said, “Integrity matters. Character matters. Truth matters, and public service should always be about what you can do for other people, not what you do for yourself.” She added that those values were worth fighting for from the start.
Boebert first won election to Congress in 2020 after defeating Rep. Scott Tipton in the Republican primary. She initially represented the 3rd District, where she won re-election in 2022 by a margin of 546 votes. In 2024, she shifted to the more conservative 4th District and won re-election with greater ease.
Despite her district's conservative leanings, Boebert was swept out by the Democratic performance in the 2026 midterms. She blamed the outcome on heavy spending against her and the Senate's failure to pass House-approved Republican bills. “There was a lot of money dumped on my head,” she said.
The relationship between Boebert and President Donald Trump had strained in recent months. In November 2025, Boebert signed a discharge petition to force a vote on the release of Justice Department files regarding Jeffrey Epstein. She did so against the president's wishes and sided with Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who led the effort.
Trump criticized Boebert for her stance, calling her “dumb” and “weak-minded.” He threatened to withdraw his endorsement but did not. The two had previously clashed over other issues, including her public disputes with other lawmakers.
Boebert was known for frequent controversies on Capitol Hill. In 2021, she apologized for suggesting Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was mistaken for a terrorist in a Capitol elevator. In 2022, she and then-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., heckled President Joe Biden during the State of the Union address. In 2023, she and a date were removed from a Denver performance of the “Beetlejuice” musical for disruptive behavior.
