Eileen Laubacher, a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral, has raised more than 10 times as much money as U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert in the race for Colorado’s 4th Congressional District.
And four months before the November election, Democrat Laubacher had a stunning cash advantage over Colorado’s best-known congressman: $3.6 million to $247,000. That’s according to new federal campaign finance reports that her campaigns filed on Wednesday evening.
But all that money, which includes contributions and expenses from respective campaign coffers as of June 30, can add up to a lot of zero in a district as red as the 4th.
Political observers advise against reading too much into Boebert’s fundraising numbers, which are paltry compared to the state’s other Republican incumbents and to her previous elections. When Boebert, now 39, first ran in the 4th District two years ago, she had nearly $530,000 in the bank after fending off several Republican primary opponents.
In 2022, when she ran for a second term in the more competitive 3rd Congressional District on the Western Slope — before moving to the 4th — Boebert had a cash balance of nearly $2.3 million as of early July, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Kyle Saunders, a political science professor at Colorado State University, pointed to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report that gives Republicans a massive 9 percentage point lead in the 4th District, which covers the state’s Eastern Plains and borders the Front Range, including Douglas County. Cook rates it as solidly Republican this year.
“History shows that money alone can rarely overcome a 9-point party tilt in a midterm or general election (election) without causing a perfect storm such as a national wave, a major scandal or the collapse of a candidate,” he said. “I consider the likelihood of a rollover to be quite low – Boebert will go into the race as a strong favorite unless there are any major changes.”
Political analyst Floyd Ciruli also warned that cash alone may not be able to overcome the reality of the district’s political makeup. Republicans have over 100,000 more registered voters than Democrats.
“I’m not sure this district is actually about money,” Ciruli said.
But that doesn’t mean there can’t be a change at the top in Colorado’s sprawling Eastern District – because there is. Betsy Markey represented the district for a single term nearly 20 years ago — the only time a Democrat has won the seat in decades.
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A “lack of enthusiasm” for Boebert?
The nearly $10.3 million that Laubacher, 57, took in compared to Boebert’s just over $1.1 million this election cycle is a significant spread.
Trying to figure out why this fundraising discrepancy exists is difficult, Saunders said, although Laubacher’s haul has benefited from extensive online fundraising appeals asking for help fighting the conservative lightning rod. All of this money will expand opportunities to get their messages across to voters, including through advertising on television and social media.
She remained unopposed in the Democratic primary after Trisha Calvarese — who lost to Boebert by 11.6 percentage points in the 2024 race — dropped her re-application in late March. Boebert was unopposed in the June 30 primary.
“It may reflect some hesitancy among GOP donors nationally related to her controversies, but in practice it hasn’t hurt her in the election here,” Saunders said of Boebert, referring to unflattering headlines the congresswoman has generated over the years. “A lack of enthusiasm is possible among moderates, but the partisan makeup of the district limits its impact.”
U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert signs Eric Archuleta’s copy of the U.S. Constitution during the Colorado Republican State Assembly on Saturday, April 11, 2026, at Massari Arena on the Pueblo campus of Colorado State University in Pueblo. (Photo by Timothy Hurst/The Denver Post)
Boebert’s smaller campaign budget could also be explained in a more benign way, he said.
“Incumbents in safe seats often don’t have to put their best foot forward (with every donor); they can rely on name recognition, party advantage in the electorate and party infrastructure,” Saunders said.
A spokesman for Boebert’s campaign did not respond to questions from The Denver Post on Thursday.
In other federal races that could prove more competitive, this week’s FEC filings show different relative money positions.
Fundraising in El Paso County’s 5th Congressional District favored Democrat Jessica Killin, who has raised nearly twice as much money this cycle as Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank raised in his first term. The former U.S. Army captain, who won the Democratic primary, had nearly $1.6 million in her coffers as of June 30, compared to nearly $1.5 million for Crank. While the district has long been a Republican stronghold, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in February added the fifth to its list of targeted “counties in play” seats.
In the 3rd District, Boebert’s successor, Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd, reported nearly $1.8 million in his account in early July, compared to $84,200 for Democratic candidate Dwayne Romero after Romero won a closely contested primary.
In Colorado’s most competitive congressional district, Republican Gabe Evans had six times more money than his Democratic opponent Manny Rutinel at the end of June. Rutinel had just over $601,000 to Evans’ nearly $3.9 million to spend through November in the race for the 8th Congressional District, which includes the northern suburbs of Denver and Greeley. But Rutinel had to prevail in a very expensive primary against two Democratic opponents.
In Colorado’s U.S. Senate race, incumbent Democrat John Hickenlooper edged out his Republican opponent, State Sen. Mark Baisley, in the fundraising game, despite facing his own primary opponent. Colorado’s youngest senator had nearly $2.1 million in his bank account as of June 30, compared to less than $27,000 for Baisley, who was unopposed in the GOP primary.
In total, Hickenlooper has raised nearly $8.9 million this election cycle, while Baisley has raised nearly $105,000. The Cook Political Report rates the Senate race as “solidly Democratic.”
Laubacher’s strategy
In the 4th District, Taylor Gillespie, Laubacher’s campaign manager, said raising money is “just part of building a successful campaign.”
Laubacher, she said, “has spent her entire career putting her life on the line for our country and is running to end self-dealing in Washington by instituting term and age limits, banning insider stock trading by politicians and ending reckless, out-of-control debt.”
Ciruli said Laubacher’s campaign can address issues that are particularly important to the largely agricultural district, such as high fuel and fertilizer prices amid the U.S. war with Iran and additional costs for farmers due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“You have to convince the farmers in Sterling or Fort Morgan that they are not getting enough representation and need to switch to a Democrat,” he said.
Saunders said Laubacher must run a “flawless ground game” and target unaffiliated and “soft GOP voters in suburban growth areas” (like Douglas County), “emphasizing her service, moderation and prioritizing people over politics.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s unpopularity in the country could hurt Republicans in the November vote. Boebert has put some distance between herself and the president in recent months, criticizing Trump for vetoing a water project that would benefit her district and calling on his administration to release files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
But Saunders said Boebert can only move away from the White House to a certain extent.
“In a safe district of any party political stripe, signals of loyalty are often more important than political nuances,” he said. “So her survival will likely depend on keeping the voter base engaged without alienating enough suburban and independent voters.”
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https://www.denverpost.com/2026/07/17/lauren-boebert-fundraising-congress-eileen-laubacher/
