Boebert, Laubacher clash over veterans votes and outside ads in Denver debate

Lauren Boebert and Eileen Laubacher met Monday night in their only debate before the November election, arguing over veterans votes, foreign policy and a $1.5 million ad campaign tied to Boebert's 2023 removal from a Denver performance of "Beetlejuice."

The debate was held at the 9News studio in Denver and moderated by Kyle Clark, who repeatedly stepped in as the candidates talked over each other. It was the first and only scheduled debate in the race for Colorado's 4th Congressional District.

Laubacher, a retired Navy rear admiral from Highlands Ranch, asked why Boebert voted against four bills supporting veterans, including the PACT Act. She also criticized Boebert's vote in favor of war in Iraq.

"If you believe no war is worth it, then you should be voting against this war," Laubacher said. "No one knows more than I the cost of war."

Boebert defended President Donald Trump's actions as necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. She did not directly answer Laubacher's questions about the veterans bills.

Boebert accused Laubacher of being a foreign agent, taking part in the Hunter Biden laptop cover-up, bearing responsibility for the Gaza floating pier and supporting Flock cameras. Laubacher denied all of them.

She said she worked briefly as a consultant for K2, a startup helping rebuild from the Maui fires, and was not a foreign agent. She said media reports incorrectly tied her to a meeting involving Hunter Biden's laptop, but she had no involvement in the laptop investigation. On Gaza, Laubacher said she worked on South Asia policy in the Biden White House, not on Gaza policy.

Laubacher also said she does not support Flock cameras.

In her opening statement, Boebert said voters already know her record.

"I represent you. I serve you. I fight for you each and every day," Boebert said. "I deliver results and some may say that I get loud, but when I get loud that means that Lamar is heard, Burlington is heard, Holyoke is heard."

Boebert said she has learned during six years in office to work across the aisle, something she did not always do when she first entered Congress.

Laubacher, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who served more than 30 years, including a deployment to Afghanistan and a tour as a defense attaché in India, said she was called back to service by what she described as chaos in Washington and extremism in both parties.

"I'm someone who understands that we need to push back on both parties and the extreme edges of them, and find ways to work together," Laubacher said in her closing remarks. "Find ways to actually deliver for the people of this district. That's our job."

The debate took place two days after the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition, a liberal super PAC, reported in a Federal Election Commission filing on Saturday that it spent $1.5 million on ad production and dissemination in the race. The ad uses surveillance footage from the Denver Center for Performing Arts showing Boebert and her date touching each other during the 2023 musical "Beetlejuice."

"If Lauren Boebert can't be trusted in a room full of kids, then she can't be trusted in the halls of Congress," the narrator says in the ad.

Boebert was removed from that performance after audience members complained about her behavior. She apologized at the time, saying she "fell short" of her values.

In a written statement Monday, Boebert responded to the spending.

"I've been outspent in every race I've run, and I've never been outworked," Boebert said. "Far-left socialist PACs can dump millions into Colorado's 4th District. My voters already know exactly who I am."

The PAC is funded mainly by Chris Larsen, a California tech investor who has given large amounts to Democratic candidates this cycle, including former state Rep. Manny Rutinel in Colorado's 8th Congressional District.

Boebert won reelection in 2024 by nearly 12 percentage points. The 4th District covers most of Colorado's eastern half and is considered the state's most Republican congressional district based on voter registration and past election results.

Laubacher has raised more than $10 million through the end of June. Boebert had raised a little more than $1 million through June.

The House Freedom Caucus campaign arm has spent nearly $450,000 to support Boebert.

The general election is Nov. 3.