Lauren Boebert – live: Republican under fire for ‘embarrassing’ tweet as she leads race by just 1,200 votes

Lauren Boebert has taken aim at Nancy Pelosi and called for the House Speaker’s ousting, while her own future in politics continues to hang in the balance.

“Waiting this long for election results is going to make firing Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House that much sweeter,” she tweeted on Monday.

Republicans are just one seat away from taking the House, after several races were called on Monday.

However, Ms Boebert’s race is still too close to call and it is unlikely the outcome will be known until the end of the week – at the soonest.

The MAGA Republican is currently leading Democratic challenger Adam Frisch by just 1,122 votes in what has shaped up to be an unexpectedly close race.

The race could be headed for an automatic recount if neither candidate fails to win by a margin of more than 0.5 per cent.

Boebert v Frisch

• Lauren Boebert calls for Pelosi’s firing as GOP looks set to take House

• Trump ally claws way back to a lead of 1,000 votes

• Boebert confident she will win: ‘Of course’

• Boebert posts Veterans Day message after coming under fire for votes on veteran bills

• Boebert’s hometown reacts to her expected landslide win slipping away

• How the tight race has caught everyone off guard

Poll: Many Republicans still back Trump for 2024, but that support is waning

13:00 , Johanna Chisholm

A new Politico-Morning Consult poll has shown that former President Donald Trump’s popularity with Republican-leaning voters might be waning in the post-midterm climate.

Among all voters surveyed in the poll, 65 per cent said the ex-president should probably or definitely not run again (of those, 53 per cent were in the definite camp).

Those numbers haven’t shifted significantly since pre-election, when the same polling group found that the twice impeached president stood at 48 per cent. But it does show that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s star is rising, with the governor shooting up from 26 per cent to 33 per cent.

Lauren Boebert used Trump and the Proud Boys to gain power – now she’s getting personal to defend her seat

12:30 , Johanna Chisholm

Lauren Boebert, who is running for re-election as a US Representative for Colorado, was among the first of a post-2016 breed of Maga-focused Republicans to win a major congressional seat.

Ms Boebert is the daughter of a single mother and has spoken at length about her upbringing struggling with poverty and a single-parent home.

During her campaign and congressional tenure, Ms Boebert has been criticised for saying she “hopes [QAnon] is true,” closeness with the Proud Boys right-wing gang, and claiming she is “with the militias.” She faced further scrutiny after aligning herself with the Capitol rioters on January 6 and tweeting “today is 1776” while Trump loyalists attacked the building and Capitol police.

Ms Boebert remains locked in a too close to call race against Democratic challenger Adam Frisch, who has run his campaign on “ending [Ms Boebert’s] circus” in Washington and has aired campaign ads claiming she “embraces Neo Nazis,” and that she has been “encouraging violence.”

Read more about the defending congresswoman’s embrace of extremist groups, from Graig Graziosi.

Everything to know about Lauren Boebert

The husband and wife duo who accidentally caused the midterms’ biggest upset

12:05 , Johanna Chisholm

It was one of the biggest shocks of the 2022 midterms. When the so-called “red wave” receded and it became clear that Republicans wouldn’t sweep statehouses and seats in Congress, an unlikely political upset was playing out in western Colorado.

As election night unfolded, Rep Lauren Boebert, the Maga flamethrower who represents Colorado’s 3rd District, suddenly found herself in the fight of her political life.

Now, Ms Boebert’s race remains uncalled – an unthinkable outcome for the conservative firebrand who was expected to cruise to reelection.

If Ms Boebert ultimately goes down, Democrats may have a husband-and-wife political duo in Colorado to thank for flipping the seat blue.

Bri Buentello’s enthusiasm was apparent as she spoke to The Independent on Thursday about the razor-thin margin between Ms Boebert and her Democratic challenger Adam Frisch.

Here, Eric Garcia speaks with the former state legislator from Pueblo County, Colorado, who describes how labour unions and the work of local elected officials, including her husband, state Senator Nick Hinrichsen, contributed to the close race.

The husband and wife duo who accidentally caused the midterms’ biggest upset

Opinion: Kevin McCarthy faces ‘an almost impossible task’ if Republicans win the House

11:19 , Johanna Chisholm

As the Democrats’ chances to hold the House majority narrow, the floodgates for Kevin McCarthy’s own personal hell are about to open. A thin majority will mean Mr McCarthy is more of a prisoner to archconservatives like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert (who looks increasingly more likely to win her race in Colorado’s 3rd district), writes The Independent’s Eric Garcia.

To get a better idea of what’s going to happen for House Republicans, The Independent spoke with Brendan Buck. Mr Buck is familiar with the internal GOP strife as he served as Speaker John Boehner’s press secretary and a counsellor to Speaker Paul Ryan, during which both men had to manage cantankerous right-wing factions.

Mr Buck quickly diagnosed the disease that caused Republicans to have a less-than-stellar night.

Brendan Buck, former press secretary for Speaker John Boehner

Continue reading the full editorial from Eric Garcia here.

What awaits Kevin McCarthy if Republicans win: ‘This is an almost impossible task

Josh Hawley says Republican party is ‘dead’ as backlash against Donald Trump after midterms grows

11:04 , Johanna Chisholm

The Republican party is “dead” and needs a complete overheal after its disappointing results in the midterm elections, according to GOP senator Josh Hawley, part of a growing backlash against the party’s leadership.

Mr Hawley’s remark on the state of the GOP came shortly after incumbent Democrat senator Catherine Cortez Masto defeated Republican challenger Adam Laxalt in Nevada, a result that meant the Democrats retained control of the Senate.

“The old party is dead,” the Missouri senator said in a tweet late on Saturday. “Time to bury it. Build something new.”

The 42-year-old has been vocally critical of the Republican party’s shortcomings in the midterm polls, including the way it conducted its election campaign.

The Independent has more details here.

Josh Hawley says Republican party is ‘dead’ as midterms backlash grows

Lauren Boebert calls for Pelosi’s firing as GOP looks set to take House

10:27 , Rachel Sharp

Lauren Boebert has taken aim at Nancy Pelosi and called for the House Speaker’s ousting, as the GOP looks set to take control of the House.

“Waiting this long for election results is going to make firing Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House that much sweeter,” she tweeted on Monday.

Republicans are just one seat away from taking the House, after several races were called on Monday.

However, Ms Boebert’s race is still too close to call and it is unlikely the outcome will be known until the end of the week – at the soonest.

ICYMI: Here’s how a recount process would work in Colorado

10:00 , Alex Woodward

The race for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District is still too close to call, but it could be headed to an automatic recount if either candidate fails to win by a margin of more than 0.5 per cent.

Colorado voters have until 16 November to “cure” or fix errors on their ballots that could lead to them being rejected. The deadline also applies to overseas voters and military service members returning their ballots.

Following that deadline, Colorado’s secretary of state’s office selects at least one statewide contest and at least one contest in each county to audit, based on staff reccomendations and analysis from Democratic and Republican election officials, according to a spokesperson for the secretary of state speaking to The New York Times.

A randomised audit then must be completed by 29 November, and bipartisan canvass boards also will perform a canvass that compares ballots cast to the number of people who voted.

If the candidates are still separated by less than one half of one percentage point, the secretary of state has until D5 December to order a mandatory recount, which must be completed by 13 December.

Political parties also can request a recount (which they must pay for), which must be completed by 15 December.

ICYMI: National GOP and Democratic groups head to Colorado for ballot ‘curing’ campaign

09:00 , Alex Woodward

With roughly 1,100 votes separating Congresswoman Lauren Boebert and Adam Frisch, staff from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Republican National Committee are on the ground in Colorado to help potentially thousands of voters whose absentee ballots were rejected because of signature verification issues.

The outcome of that ballot “curing” effort could have some impact on the narrow race, though it is unclear how many people within the congressional district are eligible or have already fixed errors with their ballot.

Colorado’s Secretary of State office reported 21,838 ballots were rejected for signature verification in 2020.

Clerks in the district’s 27 counties have until Wednesday to accept ballots from military and overseas voters as long as they were postmarked by Election Day (8 November).

All votes must be counted by the end of Friday.

ICYMI: Here’s how Lauren Boebert’s hometown felt about her expected landslide win slipping away

08:00 , Alex Woodward

An unexpectedly tight race between Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert and Democratic candidate Adam Frisch stunned even his supporters.

The race is still too close to call. Here’s what The Independent’s Sheila Flynn heard from voters in Rifle, Colorado after Election Day:

Here’s how Boebert’s hometown feels about her expected landslide win slipping away

Editor’s letter: Pollsters underestimated female voters in the midterms

06:00 , Alex Woodward

Pissing off a demographic that makes up more than half of the electorate. Who could possibly have thought that was a good idea?

After a little more than four months of gruelling post-Roe midterm elections and endless speculation from Washington DC pundits, we have finally arrived at the conclusion that Democratic activists were quietly coming to months ago: Yes, abortion matters. Taking away a right that people have relied on for decades matters.

The Independent’s John Bowden assesses what the midterms told us about how abortion rights stacked up against other issues.

Pollsters underestimated female voters in the midterms

Paul Ryan: Trump was ‘drag’ on GOP midterm ticket

05:00 , Alex Woodward

Former Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan called for his party to nominate anyone other than Trump when it comes time to 2024 presidential election candidates.

Andrew Feinberg reports on the former speaker’s remarks.

Ex-House speaker Paul Ryan blames ‘Trump hangover’ for GOP’s red wave failure

GOP losses dent Trump’s influence in Congress

04:00 , Alex Woodward

About half of Donald Trump’s chosen candidates for Congress suffered losses, denting the former president’s influence as he is widely expected to formally launch another presidential bid.

A final analysis of the night put the number at roughly 80 of Mr Trump’s 174 congressional endorsements making it to Capitol Hill, a number that includes incumbents.

The Independent’s John Bowden assesses how the former president’s candidates fared.

Trump’s influence takes a hit as half of his congressional picks go down

Women, Gen Z and LGBTQ candidates score series of firsts in midterms

03:00 , Alex Woodward

The first Gen Z member of Congress. The first lesbian governor. And the most diverse incoming legislative body in Washington DC.

The Independent’s Johanna Chisholm on the historic firsts of midterm elections:

Women, Gen Z and LGBTQ candidates celebrate series of firsts in midterm victories

Control of House still up for grabs. But Democrats face a tougher path

02:00 , Alex Woodward

Both parties still have a chance to control the House next year. Republicans appear to have the easier path to victory, but keeping their majority in line may be harder than winning it, The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg explains.

Control of House still up for grabs but Democrats face a tougher path

Analysis: How ‘women just went crazy’ and saved the Democrats

01:00 , Alex Woodward

Activists and organisers explain tell The Independent’s John Bowden how polls and pundits underestimated the issue of abortion in the midterms.

“You know, most people when they’re thinking about having an abortion are thinking about, like, when and how to have families. The decisions that they have in front of them are very significantly economic,” explained Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of the Women’s March.

“[W]hen women are talking about the issue of abortion, we are talking about the economy,” she said. “I think the Democrats need to speak better to the lived experience of the people who, you know, they want to earn their votes.”

How ‘women just went crazy’ and saved the Democrats in the midterms

Who is Adam Frisch?

00:00 , Alex Woodward

Democratic candidate Adam Frisch, 55, is a former currency trader who served eight years on the Aspen City Council.

The married father of two children was unaffiliated for decades before joining the Democratic Party in 1992 and has described himself as a non-traditional Democrat who, if elected, would seek to join the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.

He previously told The Independent that he decided to run against Ms Boebert after finding her remarks “disgusting and anti-ethical to America” and opposed her brand of “angertainment”.

“What caught my eye and started me on this path was: Lauren Boebert only got 51 per cent of the general electorate vote in 2020 ... I was thinking, you know, if a moderate, pragmatic, pro-business Democrat could get by the Democratic primary, which wouldn’t be easy – and it wasn’t – I thought I could build a coalition,” he said.

‘People want the circus to stop’: Could Lauren Boebert be in trouble?

Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for GOP ‘civil war’ after midterms failure

Monday 14 November 2022 23:19 , Alex Woodward

Far-right congresswoman and Boebert ally Marjorie Taylor Greene told Steve Bannon on Monday that she is preparing for “civil war” in the GOP to advance the party’s agenda.

She suggested that she would support House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in a leadership vote as the GOP appears poised to take the majority.

“In order for us to succeed, we’re going to be forced to work together. That means we’re going to fight it out,” Ms Greene said. “And I’m telling you, I’ve always said I’m not afraid of the civil war in the GOP. I lean into it.”

Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for GOP ‘civil war’ after midterms failure

Adam Frisch will attend new Congress member orientation

Monday 14 November 2022 21:53 , Alex Woodward

While results are still pending in the too-close-to-call race for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, Democratic candidate Adam Frisch will attend new member orientation as Congress reconvenes this week.

“It is in the best interest of the district for me to attend ... given the closeness of this race, which could be unsettled for another month,” he said in a statement.

With GOP expected to take House, Boebert ally Marjorie Taylor signals support for McCarthy as leader

Monday 14 November 2022 20:10 , Alex Woodward

Far-right Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who won a second term to Congress last week, suggested that she would support Kevin McCarthy as House GOP majority leader if Republicans take control of the House.

“It’s very, very risky right now to produce a leadership challenge, especially for speaker of the House,” she said on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast on Monday.

“I actually think that’s a bad strategy when we’re looking at having a very razor-thin majority, with potentially 219 [seats],” she said, referring to challenges to leadership. “We’re talking about one vote.”

National GOP and Democratic groups head to Colorado for ballot ‘curing’ campaign

Monday 14 November 2022 19:33 , Alex Woodward

With roughly 1,100 votes separating Congresswoman Boebert and Adam Frisch, staff from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Republican National Committee are on the ground in Colorado to help potentially thousands of voters whose absentee ballots were rejected because of signature verification issues.

The outcome of that balot “curing” effort could have some impact on the narrow race, though it is unclear how many people within the congressional district are eligible or have already fixed errors with their ballot.

Colorado’s Secretary of State office reported 21,838 ballots were rejected for signature verification in 2020.

Clerks in the district’s 27 counties have until Wednesday to accept ballots from military and overseas voters as long as they were postmarked by Election Day (8 November).

All votes must be counted by the end of Friday.

The husband and wife duo who accidentally caused the midterms’ biggest upset

Monday 14 November 2022 18:38 , Alex Woodward

Democrats in Pueblo County might unseat one of the biggest far-right firebrand in the House, and they did it without the help national Democratic support.

A former state legislator and her state senator husband from the Colorado county talked with The Independent’s Eric Garcia about the role of labour unions and the work of local elected officials to oust Lauren Boebert from Congress.

“Results matter. We’re a blue-collar town, a hard-working town. And people can tell the difference between work horses and show horses really quick,” Nick Hinrichsen told The Independent.

“There’s an expectation that you produce results pretty soon and I think that people, we’re dealing with a lot. We’re still dealing with the crisis with the war in Ukraine. Some of the supply chain problems and inflation that correlate with that. People want results more than anything,” he said.

The husband and wife duo who accidentally caused the midterms’ biggest upset

Colorado GOP facing ‘extinction-level event’ with midterm losses: ‘This was the asteroid that ended the reign of the dinosaur'

Monday 14 November 2022 18:00 , Alex Woodward

Colorado is represented by a Democratic governor, with two Democratic senators and seven House members – four of whom are Democrats.

If Adam Frisch defeats Lauren Boebert, that figure will tick up to five, which would be a surprising but not altogether unexpected flip in a state with trending Democratic leadership.

Last week, Republicans lost seven seats in Colorado’s state legislature, while another Republican state senator changed his party affiliation to Democratic before midterm elections.

That leaves the GOP with less than one third of the seats in both chambers, “the deepest Republican minority in state history,” according to Colorado Public Radio.

“Honestly I think Colorado Republicans need to take this and learn the lesson that the party is dead. This was an extinction-level event,” Republican state Rep Colin Larson told the outlet. “This was the asteroid that ended the reign of the dinosaur, and in this case, the dinosaur was the Republican party.”

Control of the House is still up for grabs but Democrats face increasingly tough path to majority

Monday 14 November 2022 17:30 , Alex Woodward

Six days after polls closed, onhoing ballot counting in tight races means it is still possible for the Democrats to stun the world by retaining control of the House of Representatives.

It’s also still possible that Republicans will earn the 218 votes needed to sweep into power.

Of the 435 seats in the lower chamber, GOP lawmakers have already been elected to 212 of them, while Democratic lawmakers have been declared the victors in 204 races.

And of the 29 seats that remain undecided, the GOP needs to win only seven more to eke out a bare majority.

Most election forecasters in the US have predicted that the Republicans will indeed take control of the House, but getting there won’t be so easy.

The Independent’s Eric Garcia and Andrew Feinberg report:

Control of House still up for grabs but Democrats face a tougher path

White House adviser says painting MAGA Republicans as ‘extremists’ helped Democrats to midterms success

Monday 14 November 2022 16:53 , Alex Woodward

White House adviser Anita Dunn said that President Joe Biden’s decision to characterise MAGA Republicans as extreme helped Democrats perform better than expected in the midterm elections.

“Former President Trump kind of adopted (it) himself,” she told NBC’s Meet the Press.

“But it was a very effective strategy for kind of raising, for the American people, the hazards of going down that path with democracy denial, with the threats of political violence to achieve political ends with an extremist program that involves denying women the right to an abortion, no economic policies that continue to be trickled down as opposed to bottom up and middle out the way President Biden is fighting for,” she said.

White House adviser: painting MAGA Republicans as ‘extremists’ helped Democrats

Betweeen 3,000 and 6,000 ballots left to be counted in Colorado, Democratic campaign says

Monday 14 November 2022 15:56 , Alex Woodward

Democratic congressional candidate Adams Frisch said that the secretary of state’s office and county clerks in the district have between 3,000 and 6,000 more ballots left to be counted.

Some ballots will need to be cured, while others are ballots cast from outside the US, including military ballots.

“I’m pretty confident that we are going to close the gap. Whether we can close the gap and get over the hump is something that we’ll have to see,” he said Sunday. “I don’t think we’re going to see any big news until Thursday afternoon or Friday, from what we’re hearing from the secretary of state.”

Here’s how a recount process would work in Colorado

Monday 14 November 2022 14:40 , Alex Woodward

The race for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District is still too close to call, but it could be headed to an automatic recount if either candidate fails to win by a margin of more than 0.5 per cent.

Colorado voters have until 16 to “cure” or fix errors on their ballots that could lead to them being rejected. The deadline also applies to overseas voters and military service members returning their ballots.

Following that deadline, Colorado’s secretary of state’s office selects at least one statewide contest and at least one contest in each county to audit, based on staff reccomendations and analysis from Democratic and Republican election officials, according to a spokesperson for the secretary of state speaking to The New York Times.

A randomised audit then must be completed by 29 November, and bipartisan canvass boards also will perform a canvass that compares ballots cast to the number of people who voted.

If the candidates are still separated by less than one half of one percentage point, the secretary of state has until D5 December to order a mandatory recount, which must be completed by 13 December.

Political parties also can request a recount (which they must pay for), which must be completed by 15 December.

Boebert confident she will win: ‘Of course’

Monday 14 November 2022 13:40 , Rachel Sharp

Lauren Boebert has insisted she is confident she will hold onto her House seat despite the unexpected close race remaining too tight to call.

“Of course I expect to win. It’ll be great,” the Republican incumbent told reporters on Thursday night in Washington DC.

When asked if she would support House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in his bid for speaker if the GOP takes the House, she hit out saying she was focusing on herself.

“Is this what you all are focused on? Do you know that I am – do you know that I am 794 votes up in my race right now?” she fired.

“That’s kind of my focus right now,” she said.

How Lauren Boebert’s hometown feels about her expected landslide win slipping away

Monday 14 November 2022 13:20 , Rachel Sharp

A new tenant was cleaning out the space that formerly housed Lauren Boebert’s restaurant on Wednesday – the infamous Shooters sign gone – as the congresswoman continued to trail her Democratic challenger nearly 20 hours after polls closed in Colorado.

The shell of the gun-themed eatery on Rifle’s main street - after the landlord decided not to renew its lease over the summer - was a fitting parallel to the career of Shooters’ former owner.

Boebert had been projected to easily beat Adam Frisch, but – several days on – the race is neck and neck and remains too close to call.

The Independent’s Sheila Flynn speaks to residents of Ms Boebert’s hometown about what they think about the surprise upset in the race:

Here’s how Boebert’s hometown feels about her expected landslide win slipping away

Conservatives turn fire on Trump over midterm debacle

Monday 14 November 2022 13:00 , Rachel Sharp

More of Donald Trump’s conservative enemies are coming out of the woodwork as the GOP inches closer to a full-scale civil war in the wake of a dismal showing in the 2022 midterm elections.

The Republican Party is now in disarray as a so-called “red wave” that was being predicted mere hours before polls closed failed to materialise and voters instead handed Democrats the keys to a Senate majority for the next two years.

The final blow in that regard came on Saturday evening, when news networks called the Nevada Senate race in favour of incumbent Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto in a final humiliating note for the GOP bid to retake the upper chamber. While the Georgia race is headed to a runoff in December, the question now is only whether Democrats will expand their majority by one seat.

The Independent’s John Bowden has the full story:

GOP turns fire on Trump over midterm debacle ahead of expected 2024 announcement

Boebert - who voted against bills supporting veterans - posts Veterans Day message

Monday 14 November 2022 12:40 , Rachel Sharp

Lauren Boebert – who voted against several bills that would have supported US veterans – has posted a Veterans Day message telling the US service members they are “loved”, as she remains deadlocked in a race to hold onto her Senate seat.

The MAGA Republican shared a video on Twitter on Friday morning where she told veterans that she is “so proud to be an American and so grateful for the freedom we all enjoy because of you”.

“You are more loved than you will ever know,” she added as she spoke in front of an American flag.

Ms Boebert captioned the post: “We can never thank our Veterans enough. God bless you as we honor your service to our great country on Veterans Day!”

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Boebert - who voted against bills supporting veterans - posts Veterans Day message

Meet the husband and wife duo who accidentally caused the midterms’ biggest upset

Monday 14 November 2022 12:17 , Rachel Sharp

It was one of the biggest shocks of the 2022 midterms. When the so-called “red wave” receded and it became clear that Republicans wouldn’t sweep statehouses and seats in Congress, an unlikely political upset was playing out in western Colorado.

As election night unfolded, Rep Lauren Boebert, the Maga flamethrower who represents Colorado’s 3rd District, suddenly found herself in the fight of her political life.

If Ms Boebert ultimately goes down, Democrats may have a husband-and-wife political duo in Colorado to thank for flipping the seat blue.

Bri Buentello’s enthusiasm was apparent as she spoke to The Independent on Thursday about the razor-thin margin between Ms Boebert and her Democratic challenger Adam Frisch.

The former state legislator from Pueblo County, Colorado, described how labour unions and the work of local elected officials, including her husband, state Senator Nick Hinrichsen, contributed to the close race.

“That’s why Pueblo County stayed blue in what was expected to be a wave Republican year, and evern after big Republican money flooded into the district ostensibly trying to buy our votes,” she told The Independent.

The Independent’s Eric Garcia has the full story:

The husband and wife duo who accidentally caused the midterms’ biggest upset

Who is Adam Frisch?

Monday 14 November 2022 11:50 , Rachel Sharp

Democrat Adam Frisch and Republican Lauren Boebert are currently neck and neck in close race for a Senate seat.

Mr Frisch, 55, is a former currency trader who served eight years on Aspen City Council and a married father of two.

He was unaffiliated for decades before joining the Democratic Party in 1992 and has described himself as a non-traditional Democrat who, if elected, would seek to join the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.

He previously told The Independent that he decided to run against Ms Boebert for several reasons. He found some of her comments “disgusting and anti-ethical to America” and opposed her brand of “angertainment,” a phrase he often uses which Mr Frisch says he borrowed from a friend.

It refers to what “Representative Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene and a lot of other people are - and there’s some on the left, as well - that use this kind of just ... yelling and screaming. I mean, a lot of time on Twitter, a lot of time on the cable news networks and not really focusing on the job at hand.”

Who is Lauren Boebert?

Monday 14 November 2022 11:30 , Rachel Sharp

Lauren Boebert, 35, is the Republican incumbent occupying the US House seat in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District.

The congresswoman first made headlines not as a politician but as a restauranteur. Her establishment, called Shooters, grabbed the public’s attention thanks to its wait staff openly carrying firearms during their shifts. She also refused to stop offering in-door dining during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ms Boebert made national headlines again after she disrupted a campaign event held by then-Presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, who had run on tightening gun control measures to curb shooting violence in the country. She was armed when she crashed the event and defied Mr O’Rourke’s claim that he wanted to confiscate assault weapons.

Later that year she announced her candidacy, challenging then-incumbent Scott Tipton. Ms Boebert ran a campaign largely rooted in MAGA ideology and loyalty to former President Donald Trump, and has continued to promote nationalist ideals during her time in Congress.

During her campaign and congressional tenure, Ms Boebert has been criticised for saying she “hopes [QAnon] is true,” closeness with the Proud Boys right-wing gang, and claiming she is “with the militias.” She faced further scrutiny after aligning herself with the Capitol rioters on January 6 and tweeting “today is 1776” while Trump loyalists attacked the building and Capitol police.

Ms Boebert is married to her husband, Jayson, and they have four sons together.

Is Colorado headed for a recount?

Monday 14 November 2022 11:10 , Rachel Sharp

In Colorado, an automatic recount is triggered if a candidate wins by a margin of 0.5 per cent or less of the leading candidate’s total votes.

This means that, to avoid a recount, either Lauren Boebert or Adam Frisch would need to lead by around 788 votes.

If a recount is triggered, it must be completed within 35 days of election day.

Where the race now stands:

Monday 14 November 2022 10:50 , Rachel Sharp

As of Monday morning, Lauren Boebert is currently leading the race for the US House seat in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District by 1,122 votes.

Ms Boebert currently has 50.2 per cent of votes compared to Democrat Adam Frisch’s 49.8 per cent of votes, with 99 per cent of votes reported.

The race remains too close to call and it could head to an automatic recount – if one of the candidate’s doesn’t secure a win of 0.5 per cent.

Boebert calls for delay to leadership races

Monday 14 November 2022 10:27 , Rachel Sharp

Lauren Boebert is calling for a delay to the Senate and House leadership votes as a number of races – including her own – remain too close to call.

A number of Republicans have called for the leadership elections to be postponed until all races are called.

Following wins in Nevada and Arizona over the weekend, Democrats have held onto control of the Senate while the House still remains up for grabs, with 11 races not yet called.

On Sunday, the MAGA Republican retweeted posts calling for a delay to the votes.

“The way people in Washington try to move quickly with Leadership elections is the same way they try to move quickly with Omnibus appropriations. Too many races haven’t been called; majorities haven’t even been won. The American People deserve a delay in leadership elections,” wrote conservative figure Scott Parkinson, in a post retweeted by Ms Boebert.

Voices: Here’s why the polls were wrong about the midterms

Monday 14 November 2022 10:00 , Bevan Hurley

Michael Salfino writes:

From large numbers of independent voters to suburban women to younger voters turning up in better-than-expected numbers, the Democrats had some unexpected advantages. And even where Republicans are winning, it may be more due to redistricting than the popularity of their own candidates.

Polls got it wrong about the midterm election results. Here’s why

Voices: Abortion wasn’t supposed to matter in the midterms but it gave Republicans a rude awakening

Monday 14 November 2022 09:00 , Bevan Hurley

Clémence Michallon writes:

Exit polls show that voters cared a lot more about abortion than expected: it was the second most important issue they kept in mind, according to NBC News’s polling, right behind inflation and far ahead of crime, gun policy, and immigration.

And in states where abortion was explicitly on the ballot, people voted to support access to the procedure.

Read more:

Abortion wasn’t supposed to matter in the midterms. Republicans got a rude awakening

Murdoch turns on Trump with scathing New York Post cover

Monday 14 November 2022 07:00 , Bevan Hurley

The New York Post, a Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper that’s long voiced its support for Donald Trump, shared a scathing cover of the former president that showed those loyalties may be eroding.

Johanna Chisholm reports on the shifting allegiances in right-wing media.

Murdoch turns against Trump in scathing New York Post cover: ‘TRUMPTY DUMPTY’