Lauren Boebert, a Donald Trump-affiliated US congresswoman who has touted conspiracy theories and made Islamophobic remarks, won her re-election campaign in Colorado on Friday after her opponent, Democrat Adam Frisch, conceded.
Results from her district took days to tabulate due to razor-thin margins, with Ms Boebert receiving 50.1 per cent of the vote.
There is, however, expected to be an automatic recount, even after Mr Frisch's concession.
Ms Boebert's Democratic opponent said he does not expect the results to change and does not want supporters to fundraise in hopes of changing the outcome.
“We believe in the integrity of elections in the great state of Colorado,” Mr Frisch said in a Facebook Live video.
“It'd be disingenuous and unethical for us, or any other group, to continue to raise false hope and encourage fundraising … please save your money for your groceries, your rent, your children and for other important causes and organisations.".
His comments follow a tense campaign against the right-wing incumbent, who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election the day of the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, when rioters ransacked the heart of US democracy.
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Donald Trump, the president at the time, speaks during a rally protesting the electoral college certification of Joe Biden as president in Washington on January 6, 2021. AP -
A mob loyal to Mr Trump tries to break through a police barrier at the Capitol. AP -
The mob waves pro-Trump flags in front of the Capitol building. AP -
Riot police push back a crowd of rioters at the Capitol building. AFP -
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the US Capitol building. AFP -
Insurrectionists loyal to Mr Trump try to open a door of the US Capitol building as they riot in Washington. AP -
US Capitol Police push back rioters trying to enter the US Capitol. AP -
Police and rioters confront each other in the Rotunda of the Capitol. US Capitol Police via AP -
Smoke fills the hallway outside the Senate chamber of the Capitol. AP -
Insurrectionists loyal to Mr Trump breach the Capitol in Washington. AP -
Trump supporters, including Doug Jensen, centre, confront US Capitol Police in the hallway outside the Senate chamber at the Capitol. AP -
Newly installed razor wire tops the fence surrounding the US Capitol following the January 6 riot. Reuters -
Security agents and members of Congress barricade the door to the House chamber as the violent mob breaches the Capitol. AP -
Rioter Jacob Chansley holds a sign referencing QAnon as supporters of Mr Trump gather to protest the early results of the 2020 presidential election. Reuters
Last year, Ms Boebert made a series of Islamophobic remarks against Muslim-American Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, calling her a member of the “jihad squad” during an event in her Colorado district.
During that same event, she told a joke about being stuck in a lift with Ms Omar and fearing her Democratic colleague was a suicide bomber.
She later apologised “to anyone in the Muslim community I offended” for the “unnecessary distraction”, but later posted a video on Instagram calling Ms Omar “anti-American” and suggesting she is “sympathising with terrorists”.
A group of Democrats last year introduced a bill to strip Ms Boebert of her committee assignments due to her comments.
Her re-election further solidified Republicans' unexpectedly narrow majority in the House, after Ms Boebert and other members of her party spent the election season promising a “red wave” of landslide victories.
Control of the House, albeit by only a small majority, is hugely significant, as the Republicans will now be able to block President Joe Biden's legislative agenda.
