NORTHERN COLORADO — A close race in Colorado's 4th Congressional District is drawing attention to a possible political shift in a district that has historically leaned Republican.
Early results Wednesday showed Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert trailing her Democratic challenger Eileen Laubacher by fewer than 5,000 votes, as election officials continued counting ballots. By Thursday morning, the gap continued to close with fewer than 3,000 votes separating the two candidates.
See the latest election results from this race in the embed below:
The district covers much of Northern Colorado, the Eastern Plains and the southern suburbs of Denver.
Denver7 spoke with voters in Larimer and Weld counties to hear what they think may be driving the close race and what they hope to see from elected leaders moving forward.
Jeff Conlon, a registered Republican, said he wasn't surprised by the results. He believes President Donald Trump's policies may have influenced voters' decisions this election.
"I'm a registered Republican. I'm not surprised because of the popularity of Trump," Conlon said.
He pointed to economic concerns, including gas prices and the cost of goods, as possible reasons some voters supported Democratic candidates.
"A lot of policies that he has, and the, like, the gas prices, price of goods, and I think that's why people are voting Democrat," Conlon said.
Watch Denver7 northern Colorado and eastern plains reporter Peter Choi's story in the video below:
The results mark a notable contrast with the district's recent voting history. In 2024, Boebert won the 4th Congressional District by nearly 11.6%, defeating Democratic challenger Trisha Calvarese.
Other voters pointed to political polarization as a factor in the race.
Michelle Peyton said some voters may be reconsidering their support for Republican candidates when they feel a candidate's values do not align with their own.
She said growing political polarization has made it harder for some voters to connect with candidates.
Another registered Republican said she did not vote for either candidate.
She said she had difficulty determining what information to trust during the campaign and saw qualities in Boebert's Democratic challenger that appealed to her.
Despite their different perspectives, one theme came up during the conversations: a desire for more unity and open dialogue.
One Republican voter said people are increasingly surrounded by information that reinforces their existing beliefs, making it harder to engage with people who have different opinions.
"We don't sit with things and with people that we disagree with," she said.
With fewer than 3,000 votes separating the candidates as of Thursday morning, the outcome remains unresolved as ballots continue to be counted.
