Boebert’s strategy was two-pronged: proving to voters that she’s about more than negative media attention and talking about the issues she believes matter.

Lauren Boebert, Republican candidate for Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, speaks to supporters at an election watch party, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Windsor, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

WINDSOR — Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert won re-election to Congress Tuesday, completing a political trapeze act in which she switched districts mid-election cycle during a period of intense personal turmoil and embarrassment.

Boebert was defeating Democrat Trisha Calvarese with 53% of the vote to Calvarese’s 43% of the vote at 8:48 p.m. when Calvarese conceded.

The news wasn’t all great for Boebert, however. She was well below her Republican predecessors in the district, as well as other Republicans running for office in the 4th District this year.

Boebert currently represents the 3rd Congressional District on the other side of Colorado, but late last year she shifted her re-election bid to the 4th District, which stretches from the Eastern Plains into the county of Douglas and Loveland, to improve his chances of obtaining a third term in Washington. , CC

The 4th District — the most Republican of Colorado’s eight congressional districts in terms of voter registration and past results — provided a landing spot. The district’s last representative, Ken Buck, won each of his last two re-election attempts by 24 percentage points.

Boebert faced a tough re-election bid in the 3rd District, where she won by just 546 votes in 2022. But her prospects darkened further after she was kicked out of a performance of the musical “Beetlejuice” in Denver l last year for talking loudly, vaping and engaging in mutual groping with a male companion. The episode, about which she initially misled journalists, was filmed by surveillance cameras and broadcast everywhere.

The MP, whose divorce was finalized in the weeks following the “Beetlejuice” incident, moved with her children to Windsor earlier this year in search of a fresh start, politically and personally, after the opening of the 4th District seat following Buck’s retirement. .

Calvarese, a first-time candidate who previously worked as a speechwriter, congressional aide and campaign staffer, raised millions of dollars from Democratic donors across the country by citing Boebert’s unpopularity. Calvarese has tried to appeal to conservative voters in the 4th District by sticking to his liberal beliefs but trying to engage beyond partisan labels.

“We’ve embraced the message that the polls show we can win (with it),” Calvarese said in an interview on the campaign trail last month. “We left with the message that we know voters are changing.”

But the Republican Party’s dominance in the district proved too great an obstacle.

Boebert’s strategy was two-fold: prove to voters in the 4th District that she is much more than the negative media attention she received, and speak out on the issues she believes matter most to conservatives. She began speaking to reporters more regularly, sitting down for lengthy interviews with local and national media outlets. She seemed open to criticism.

“My personal life is an open book on the table. I’m not afraid of that,” she told The Sun in an interview earlier this year.

After winning the six-way Republican primary in the district, Boebert appeared headed for re-election.

In the 4th Congressional District, two super PACs spent $318,000 to oppose Boebert and help Calvarese. But national groups mostly stayed on the sidelines of the race, hoping that Boebert would win.

Colorado Sun correspondent Sandra Fish contributed to this report.

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to covering Colorado issues. To learn more, visit coloradosun.com.

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