Republican Boebert's lead shrinks in Colorado US House race

Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert’s lead shrank against Democrat Adam Frisch in the tight race for a U.S. House seat representing a largely rural swath of Colorado

Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert's lead has decreased against Democrat Adam Frisch in the tight race for a U.S. House seat representing a largely rural swath of Colorado.

Boebert, a conservative firebrand, saw her lead fall to about 615 votes with new results Thursday in a race that’s being closely watched across the country as Republicans try to bolster their advantage in the U.S. House after clinching a narrow majority Wednesday night.

Boebert’s margin puts the race within the threshold that would trigger a mandatory recount in the district. In Colorado, an automatic recount is triggered when the margin of votes between the top two candidates is at or below 0.5% of the leading candidate’s vote total. On Thursday afternoon, that margin was just below 0.4%.

Boebert is a Trump loyalist who gained widespread notoriety and a spot on the so-called “MAGA Squad” with her combative style. She had been favored to win reelection in the sprawling 3rd Congressional District after redistricting made the conservative district more Republican.

Frisch, a businessman who served on the city council in the posh ski town of Aspen, tried to lure Republican voters by downplaying his Democratic Party affiliation and tapping into GOP disillusionment with Boebert’s polarizing rhetoric and what he called her brand of “angertainment.”

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Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.