Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert’s attempt to preserve her career by moving to Colorado’s more conservative 4th District has ended in defeat. The Associated Press projected Friday that Democrat Eileen Laubacher narrowly won the race, bringing Boebert’s tumultuous three terms in Congress to a close.

With 99% of the vote counted, Laubacher led Boebert by just under 0.9%. The margin was narrow, but the consequence was unmistakable: A former Republican had unseated a MAGA stalwart who built her national profile through controversy and notoriety.

Even before the race was called, Boebert was offering an explanation for her failed reelection bid. During a Thursday interview with NewsNation, she said voters “were played by the markets.”

When asked what she meant, the Colorado congresswoman replied, “Everything is just dropping.” That observation now applies rather neatly to a political career that Boebert tried to rescue by swapping districts instead of changing her conduct.

Boebert first won election to Congress in 2020 by 6 points. She arrived in Washington after running as the joint owner of a gun themed bar and grill in Rifle, Colorado, and quickly became one of the most controversial members of Congress.

Soon after taking office in 2021, Boebert expressed interest in the QAnon delusion and embraced her reputation as a far right conspiracy theorist. Six months into her first term, Dana Milbank memorably described her as being “lost in a cacophony of crazy.”

Boebert also spoke frequently about carrying a gun. Around that same period, she triggered an alarm at a congressional metal detector and refused to allow guards to search her handbag, adding another episode to a growing collection of attention grabbing confrontations.

Her standing did not improve during the years that followed. One especially damaging incident came in 2023, when she attended a family oriented production of “Beetlejuice” in Denver and was removed from the venue for “causing a disturbance” during the show.

Boebert initially denied wrongdoing. Surveillance footage from inside the theater later showed that she had acted inappropriately with her date, undercutting her denials and adding yet another embarrassment to a congressional tenure already defined by antics.

The political warning signs had arrived well before that episode. After her 6 point victory in 2020, Boebert barely survived the 2022 election in Colorado’s 3rd District, winning a second term by about 500 votes.

That result suggested that many voters in the Republican leaning district had grown unimpressed with Boebert and the chaos surrounding her. A more responsible approach might have improved her prospects, but Boebert chose a geographical solution instead.

She moved and sought election in Colorado’s more conservative 4th District. Donald Trump had won that district two years earlier by 18 points, apparently offering Boebert the safer political terrain she wanted after nearly losing her previous seat.

The district switch did not produce the result Boebert needed. Rather than salvaging her career on Capitol Hill, the move ended with Laubacher holding a lead of just under 0.9% after 99% of votes had been counted.

Laubacher is a retired two star Navy rear admiral who served on the National Security Council during the Biden administration. She is also a former Republican who said she left the party after it became “nearly unrecognizable.”

Boebert had already addressed the possibility of defeat earlier in the week. She said that if she lost the election, she would not seek a rematch in 2028.

Her defeat closes a congressional run that began with gun themed branding and flourished through conspiracy theories, conflict and public spectacle. In the end, even an 18 point Trump district could not provide enough shelter from the reputation Boebert built for herself.