Mandatory Recount Ordered In Rep. Lauren Boebert's Colorado Race

Democratic rival Adam Frisch has already conceded defeat, saying that he believes a new count will not change the election's outcome.
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Colorado’s secretary of state announced Wednesday that the race between incumbent Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert and Democrat Adam Frisch in the 3rd Congressional District is headed to a mandatory recount.

Boebert led Frisch by 550 votes in last month’s midterm election. Colorado law mandates that when the margin between two candidates is within 0.5% of the winner’s vote tally, a recount has to take place.

The process must be completed by Dec. 13, Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) said.

“The results of the District 3 race reinforce the fact that every vote matters,” Griswold said in a statement.

Frisch already conceded the race to Boebert on Nov. 18, saying that he did not think a recount would change the result. He echoed that belief in a statement this week.

“While I am fully supportive of the recount process, based on the history of Colorado recounts, I could not, in good faith, perpetuate false hope that there is a good chance of the recount changing the outcome of this election,” he said Thursday.

The unexpectedly tight contest surprised Republicans, who had anticipated a “red wave” midterm spurred in part by President Joe Biden’s low approval rating. The GOP narrowly won the House but Democrats retained Senate control.

While Frisch maintained an early lead in the race, this was seemingly not enough to push Boebert out.

The Colorado Republican, who was first elected to Congress in 2020, has emerged as one of the most extremist lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

She was among the 147 Republicans in Congress who voted last year to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election, which was won by Biden. Former President Donald Trump, who had falsely claimed that the election was “stolen” from him, endorsed Boebert last December.

Boebert has also labeled Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who is Muslim, a “jihad squad member” and compared her to a suicide bomber. Separately, the Coloradan has even vowed to carry a gun around the Capitol.

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