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By Nick Reynolds
Senior Reporter, Politics
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Few people seemed surer of a "Red Wave" on election night more than Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert.
But that prediction didn't come true, and Boebert—who herself unseated Republican incumbent Representative Scott Tipton two years ago—found herself trailing in a race that was too close to call as of Wednesday morning, prompting a somber scene at her campaign headquarters on election night that was widely circulated on social media.
Facing re-election for the first time Tuesday night, Bobert, who had been seen as a rising star in the modern-day conservative movement, had, for weeks, warned of the looming momentum of the political movement former President Donald Trump had inspired that threatened to kneecap the final two years of Democratic President Joe Biden's first term and restore a conservative majority to Congress.
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"It's going to be a red wave!" she tweeted before an election day two years ago when Republicans clawed back several seats from the Democrats' House majority. Before then, she pointed to the recall of a progressive San Francisco District Attorney as a sign of the shifting tide in U.S. politics, and claimed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "knows she's losing the gavel."
For live updates on the midterms, head over to Newsweek's Live Blog: Who Won the Midterm Elections 2022?—Senate, House, Governor Results
Entering election night, Boebert was just as high on Republicans' chances.
"They called you cockroaches. They called you cult members. They called you extremists. They called you terrorists," she said of Democrats in a Tuesday morning tweet. "Today, we call them losers!"
As of Wednesday morning, however, the red wave Boebert predicted has not only subsided—it may have disappeared entirely.
Once predicted to easily win a majority in the House in the lead-up to election day, Republicans found the likelihood of a new majority to be somewhat in doubt as votes were continually being counted Wednesday, with many analysts projecting Democrats could actually manage to maintain its narrow majority next year after numerous defeats in elections otherwise considered to be toss-ups.
Meanwhile, the Senate—which was essentially a coin-flip entering Tuesday night—was anything but, as Republican candidates who had been considered to potentially flip seats in states like Washington, Oregon and Colorado were defeated.
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And while Republicans managed to hold onto seats they controlled in battleground states like Ohio and North Carolina, Democrats managed to flip control of a high-profile contest in Pennsylvania, with other tight contests in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada looking increasingly optimistic for Democrats as votes continued to be counted Wednesday morning.
Less than 24 hours after Boebert's original prediction, many noted on social media that Boebert had yet to comment on the election results and her red wave prediction.
"The only red wave Lauren Boebert is gonna see," Democratic strategist Max Burns tweeted Wednesday morning, "is that whole bottle of Cab Sauv she's chugging down this afternoon."
Others were quick to pile on.
One Twitter user made his point by answering Boebert with a wave from everyone's favorite red Muppet, Elmo.
"'the red wave has begun!' — Lauren Boebert, yesterday," liberal social media personality Jeff Tiedrich tweeted Wednesday. "'you want fries with that?' — Lauren Boebert, tomorrow"
Ok, @laurenboebert wins for the funniest tweet of the night," gun control advocate Fred Guttenberg, a parent of a child slain in the Parkland school shooting, tweeted. "Not only is there no red wave, Lauren is about to be voted out."
Twitter user Mad Matt Beyond Thunderdome pictured Boebert as a lonely person waiting for the red wave to come.
Newsweek has reached out to Boebert's campaign for comment.
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