The race between Republican Rep. Lauren Bobert and Democratic challenger Adam Freese in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District appears headed for a recount, but it will likely be a few weeks before it begins.
As of Friday morning, with nearly all the votes tallied, Bobert leads Fries by just 551 votes in what was considered a safe Republican district. In Colorado, any race decided by a margin of 0.5% or less of the top vote-getter is automatically counted. Today’s margin of 551 votes is about 0.34% of Bobert’s 163,758 votes.
According to information released by the Colorado Secretary of State’s office, all but one of the counties in the Western Slope region have completed casting ballots.
Under Colorado law, counties have until Nov. 29 to complete a risk mitigation audit, which involves double-checking a small number of ballots against recorded votes, and then until Nov. 30 to certify their final tallies Results.
Colorado Secretary of State Jenna Griswold has until Dec. 5 to certify the election and order any mandatory recounts. These recounts must be completed by December 13.
Bobert’s close race in a seat that has become more Republican since redistricting — former President Donald Trump would have carried it by 8 points in 2020 — has surprised many political observers. Fries, a local businessman and former Aspen city councilman, made the election a referendum on the hardline lawmaker’s controversial tenure in Washington. Throughout the race, his campaign revolved around a trailer called “Beat Boebert Buggy,” and his Twitter bio describes Frisch as “Candidate to beat Lauren Boebert.”
Bobert suggested on CNN last week that voters’ lack of enthusiasm for her party’s candidates for governor and U.S. Senate had caused her race to be much closer than expected.
He noted that Gov. Jared Polis and Sen. Michael Bennett, both Democrats, were skating to re-election.
“I think Polis and Bennett definitely carried the ticket for the Democratic Party,” he told CNN.
“I don’t know if there wasn’t enough excitement about our top gubernatorial and Senate candidates or what happened there. But there was a big vote shift there,” he said, before adding, “Of course, I expect to win.”
Bobert was new to politics in 2020 when she upset Rep. Scott Tipton in a GOP primary. She found substantial support in Colorado by positioning herself as a close ally of Trump. Her bombastic political style, however, was controversial in Washington. Earlier this year, she shouted during President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address as he discussed aid to US veterans and in 2021, her baseless suggestion that Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar was a terrorist drew national attention. headlines. Bobert later apologized to “anyone in the Muslim community that I offended”.
Bobert’s race is among a handful of House contests that remain uncalled by CNN as of Friday morning. Other unbidden races include several contests in California and the Alaska At-Large district race, which will likely be decided by the state’s new ranked-choice voting system next week.
