Boebert launches fundraising effort for recount, says winning House seat won’t be ‘cheap’
Cami Mondeaux Marisa Schultz
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EXCLUSIVE — Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) is preparing for a likely recount in her fight for reelection, launching a fundraising account to pay for legal fees to oversee the election process as the Republican incumbent’s lead has narrowed to fewer than 550 votes and the race remains too close to call.
Boebert was narrowly leading Democratic opponent Adam Frisch by just 0.16 of a percentage point as of late Thursday, putting the race well within the margin of a mandatory recount required under state law. If a recount is triggered, those results must be completed by Dec. 13.
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“The recount will be automatic because it will be in that threshold, and I will certainly have a legal presence to monitor the process,” Boebert told the Washington Examiner. “So there’ll be fundraising that’s involved in this. A recount fund has already been created so we can fund our legal department.”
The race has been deemed too close to call by election forecasters, with the Associated Press noting it would await the results of the recount before making a determination. However, Boebert has already claimed victory in the race, arguing her slim lead won’t be diminished by a recount.
“If you look at Colorado state history with recounts, it doesn’t really change the votes that much,” Boebert said. “So this certainly isn’t going to be anything that changes the outcome of this race. I’m very confident in this, and the way that works is [that] they count the same ballots and report the numbers. So once every legal vote is counted, I will have won this race.”
As of Friday morning, Boebert led Frisch by more than 500 votes, and roughly 200 votes are left to be counted, according to her campaign. As a result, the Colorado Republican said she is confident she will be reelected.
It’s not clear how much money Boebert’s legal efforts in the recount will cost, with the freshman lawmaker estimating she’d raise “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
“We have 27 counties to monitor — lots of bodies and lots of eyes on the recount,” she said. “So it’s certainly something that’s not cheap.”
The race for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District has garnered national attention as the results have been left in doubt for a surprisingly competitive election in an otherwise conservative district. Former President Donald Trump won the district by 8 points in the 2020 election.
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Boebert has emerged as one of the GOP’s most recognized freshman lawmakers, making headlines for her incendiary comments on topics ranging from gun rights to the COVID-19 pandemic. Frisch launched his campaign as the antidote to her firebrand manner, framing himself as the “candidate to defeat Lauren Boebert.”
Frisch has not responded to a request for comment by the Washington Examiner.