DENVER (AP) — Democrat Adam Frisch conceded Friday in his tight U.S. House race against Republican Lauren Boebert that is likely headed to a recount, but highlighted how his surprisingly strong showing revealed that Republican voters in the sprawling Colorado district are tiring of Boebert’s brash style.
The Associated Press has declared the election in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District too close to call. AP will await the results of a potential recount to call the race. With nearly all votes counted, the incumbent Boebert leads Democrat Adam Frisch by 0.16 percentage points, or 551 votes out of nearly 327,000 votes counted.
“America is tired of the circus, tired of the lack of respect for our institutions and democracy, and tired of the lack of civility in our discourse,” Frisch said.
Frisch said he supports the recount but that it would be unrealistic to think it would flip enough votes for him to win.
In Colorado, a mandatory 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 Friday, that margin was around .34%.
Frisch’s comments come after Boebert claimed victory late Thursday in a tweeted video of her standing in front of the U.S. Capitol.
“Come January, you can be certain of two things,” said Boebert before thanking her supporters, “I will be sworn in for my second term as your congresswoman and Republicans can finally turn Pelosi’s house back into the People’s House.”
The unexpectedly close margin for Boebert, one of Congress’s staunchest supporters of former President Donald Trump, was the latest indication that Trump’s influence on Republican voters could be waning amid a nationwide fight over the direction of the Republican Party. It is a question some Republican leaders raised in partly blaming Trump for their dismal midterm results even as the former president forged ahead in launching his 2024 presidential bid.
Like the former president, Boebert’s provocative style has galvanized anti-establishment angst and won a loyal following on the right. With frequent TV appearances and a near-household name, the campaign cash flowed in — she raised $6.6 million in the past two years, an astronomical sum for a freshman member of the House.
To Frisch, the close race shows that voters in Colorado’s largely rural district appear to have tired of what he dubbed Boebert’s “antics” and “angertainment.”
“We have shown the country that extremists politicians can be defeated, loud voices are not invincible, and shouting will not solve problems,” Frisch said.
The former city council member in the posh town of Aspen tried to capitalize on that exhaustion. He rarely mentioned he was a Democrat on the campaign trail and backed removing Democrat Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House, saying he wanted to lower the partisan temperature in Washington. It was an indirect dig at Boebert that resonated with voters in a highly rural district that, though conservative, have often backed pragmatists.
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Democrat city vote counting is like Counting on Taylor Swift tickets from Ticketron,,,,not Tailored to be swift, and no moneyback guarantee of you getting your ticket validated or punched out,,,just your Republican candidate.
If Frisch thinks “America is tired of the circus, tired of the lack of respect for our institutions and democracy, and tired of the lack of civility in our discourse,” why do he and his party keep putting
up Pinheads, Bearded Ladies, and mental midget sideshow geeks as their candidates for the highest of offices. I don’t remember tens of thousands in crowds of angry voters descending upon Republican run Houses of Congress? Another Nancy Pelosi legalcy tobe proud of from our First WAoman Speaker, soon to be silenced.
HOW IN gods name is a vote taking THIS BLOODY Long to count??!?!
Equally or more important is HOW IN God’s name can anyone vote for a “D” considering this absolute train wreck of an administration? The only thing I can come up with is D voters must be mentally ill b/c they voted for a weakened/less secure nation, inflation/higher prices, and the continued policies of a vacuous, dementia-addled maroon.
Better have several more eyes watching the recount for sure.