Laubacher turns up the heat on Boebert
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Eileen Laubacher (left) during a 2020 press conference in Lucknow, India. Photo: Deepak Gupta/Getty
Retired Navy Rear Adm. Eileen Laubacher has the resume, money and growing institutional support that could make U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert sweat the 4th Congressional District seat Republicans routinely dominate.
Why it matters: Laubacher, a former Republican homeschool mom and U.S. Naval Academy graduate from Highlands Ranch, is running toward the middle as a Democrat in solid red territory.
The big picture: She served 34 years in the Navy, including seven as an intelligence officer, and later worked on President Biden's National Security Council.
What they’re saying: "I just saw all these institutions and organizations that I had given my whole life for be under attack," she tells Axios. "I just really felt … compelled to try to do what I can for this district."
By the numbers: Laubacher raised roughly $10.3 million through June and entered July with $3.6 million, federal filings show.
- Boebert raised around $1 million and had about $247,000 left during the same period.
State of play: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added CD-4 to its "Districts in Play" this month after sitting out the race against Boebert in 2024.
- The designation brings Laubacher national communications support and could unlock party spending.
Zoom in: If Laubacher wants to pull one of November’s biggest electoral upsets, she’ll need disaffected Republicans backing her.
- She’s pitching fiscal restraint, congressional term limits and service over partisan spectacle.
This week, she declined to back democratic socialist Melat Kiros in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District.
- “[S]ome of the things [Kiros] said, the idea that 9/11 was America's fault … just frankly makes me sick," Laubacher tells Axios.
Surprising stat: Boebert won CD-4 by nearly 12 points in 2024 — a comfortable victory but well short of Ken Buck's 2022 24-point margin.
- In the Douglas County portion of CD-4, Boebert beat Democrat Trisha Calvarese by just 0.6 points.
- Douglas County is home to a plurality of the district's voters and is crucial to Laubacher's strategy.
Yes, but: Inside Elections and Cook Political Report still rate CD-4 "Solid Republican."
- Kalshi also favors Boebert.
The other side: “We commend and thank Lauren Boebert’s opponent for her sterling military service,” Douglas County GOP chair Robin Webb tells Axios. “Congresswoman Boebert has proven … that she will uphold the conservative values that matter to Douglas County.”
The bottom line: Democrats have money and a crossover-minded candidate. Republicans have the district's partisan math.