PUEBLO — In one of the most closely watched races in the 2022 U.S. House midterm, Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert took a slim lead against Democrat Adam Frisch in Colorado’s third district as of Friday morning.
As of early Thursday, Frisch led by just 64 votes with 98% of the vote in. Later in the morning, Boebert took a lead of about 386 votes.
Results from the Colorado Secretary of State's Office as of Friday evening show Boebert with a lead of 1,122 votes.
It is unclear how many counties are still counting this evening, and how many ballots remain outstanding. The Secretary of State's Office is closed today for Veterans Day.
Pueblo County is the largest county in District 3. As of 9:34 p.m. on Thursday, Frisch lead the county by more than 4,000, votes according to the Secretary of State's Office.
The Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder, Gilbert "Bo" Ortiz, said his office is garnering national attention from news outlets interested in the status of the race.
"It could be (a lot of) hype because it's a high profile case or it could be because we're American and we want instant gratification. We want to know right now who is winning," said Ortiz.
While other counties continue counting ballots, Pueblo County had the largest outstanding number of ballots of them all.
Ortiz's office has faced scrutiny throughout the year after multiple ballot misprints and concerns, eventually prompting a state supervisor to be present on election day.
However, Ortiz says he is not worried about the accuracy of the results.
"At the end of this when we certify this election, if they want to take us to court, that's up to them," said Ortiz.
In a new statement Thursday afternoon, Frisch said he was still waiting for every ballot to be counted in the race.
"Every vote matters in this incredibly close race and thousands of votes in Pueblo County and from military and overseas voters remain, and a considerable number of curable ballots remain as well," Frisch said. "It is crucial for our democracy to count every vote and I have full confidence in the 27 county clerks in this district to conduct a fair count. While I remain confident, I will ultimately respect the results of this election regardless of the outcome."
While Republicans lead in enough districts to reclaim the House of Representatives, losing a seat like Boebert’s could put a dent in what appears to be at best a slim majority for the GOP.
It could take nearly a week for full results to be completed. The state gives voters who made a mistake on their ballot until Nov. 16 to "cure" their ballots. The state also accepts overseas and military ballots through Nov. 16.
Election officials have until Nov. 18 to complete their final counts.
Counties in the district have until next week to accept ballots from military members and overseas voters and will have to give time for voters to cure their ballots.
The race is now one of the most closely watched races in the country, much less in Colorado. Boebert won her 2020 election by 6 percentage points and about 25,000 votes over Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush, and her district leans even more Republican after redistricting.
An average of eight statewide elections showed the newly redrawn 3rd Congressional District leans Republican by 9.3%.
On Wednesday afternoon, Frisch, the former Aspen City Councilman, led Boebert by about 2,500 votes. By 8 p.m., his lead was down to 73 votes, and by 9:17 p.m., Frisch had a 64-vote lead.
If the margin between the leading candidate and the second-place candidate is equal to or less than 0.5% of the number of votes cast for the leading candidate, the race would go to an automatic recount under Colorado law. Candidates are also allowed to request a recount that would be paid for at their own expense.
As it was last checked Friday the margin between the two had Boebert ahead with 1122 votes.
With still thousands of votes to be counted the margin as it stands only gives her a 0.34 percent margin well within Colorado's 0.5 percentage margin that would automatically trigger a Colorado recount law.
Frisch sent a letter to his supporters Wednesday morning saying it was his honor to run and that he and his campaign were waiting for all the ballots to be counted.
“Hopefully soon Coloradans and Americans alike can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that there is one less extremist in office,” he said. “We will keep you updated as the vote counting continues.”
Boebert, who stayed quiet Wednesday, was back tweeting Thursday morning — about Jesus, “winning,” and a meme about waiting for results in her race.
After Republican Barbara Kirkmeyer conceded to Democrat Dr. Yadira Caraveo in the 8th Congressional District on Wednesday, the 3rd Congressional District race is the last one to be called in Colorado. Democrats currently hold a 5-2 lead in Congressional seats based on the results so far.
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