By Jim Ellis — Tuesday, July 22, 2025
House
Colorado Rep. Gabe Evans (R)
The large Democratic field is vying to challenge freshman Rep. Gabe Evans (R-Fort Lupton). The group includes former Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo, State Treasurer David Young, and state Reps. Manny Rutinel (D-Commerce City) and Shannon Bird (D-Westminster), among the nine contenders to date.
One of the legislators, state Rep. Rutinel, has already raised $1.6 million with over $800,000 cash-on-hand. Rep. Evans has also raised $1.6 million for his re-election campaign and has a more substantial $1.5 million in his campaign coffers. In contrast, Caraveo, who lost to Evans in November, raised only $214,000 since her 2026 announcement of candidacy.
State Rep. Bird has raised a substantial amount, and also more than the former incumbent. Bird recorded campaign receipts of $446,559 through the June 30 campaign finance 2nd Quarter deadline and holds just under $374,000 in her campaign account. Lagging behind is State Treasurer Young who attracted less than $75,000.
Colorado, as previously reported many times, redistricted in 2021 through a citizens’ commission. The congressional panel drew the state’s newly awarded 8th District to be one that would reflect the electorate’s twists and turns as the political climate evolves throughout the ensuing decade. The Dave’s Redistricting App statisticians calculate the CO-8 partisan lean at 48.3D – 47.0R, and in its two election cycles the district has performed largely as intended.
In November, President Trump carried CO-8 with a tight 49.6 – 47.8 percent spread. Four years earlier, however, President Biden also posted a close win in the new district, 50.8 – 46.3 percent. That year, Caraveo, then a state Representative, was elected as the district’s first US Representative with a 48.4 – 47.7 percent victory over Republican state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer. In 2024, Evans, himself then a state Representative, unseated Caraveo with again a similarly close margin, this time, 48.9 – 48.2 percent.
The district became one of the focal points in the 2024 battle for the House majority, and it will undoubtedly again be a key factor in which party controls the chamber come January of 2027.
The 8th District lies just north and east of Denver, stretching from the metro bedroom communities of Commerce City, Thornton, and Westminster northward 50-plus miles to the city of Greeley, a municipality with a population of just under 100,000 in Weld County. The district holds almost all of Adams County, with a portion of Weld, and a sliver of Larimer counties.
Though Caraveo, a physician, represented the district in its initial term, her return so far this year has been marred with controversy. A news story that she has relatively recently attempted suicide is a large reason why campaign is off to a slow start and her fundraising poor.
Still, she has high name identification and in a plurality system with a crowded field, she cannot be counted out. At the beginning of this 8th District nomination campaign, the leaders appear to be the two state Reps., Rutinel and Bird.
Regardless of who wins this hotly contested Democratic primary, Rep. Evans will have his hands full in a first attempt to hold this politically marginal district, a seat that has proven difficult for either party to establish a lasting foothold.
Before coming to Congress, Rep. Evans served one term in the Colorado House of Representatives. He has a military service record that includes active duty in the US Army and has logged time in both the Colorado and Virginia National Guard. He was also a policeman for the city of Arvada, Colorado.
Though the Democratic candidates are raising substantial early funds, most of their initial monies will be used to win the nomination. Because this race will be a top national target, financing for the general election both through individual contributions to the candidates’ committees and outside spending from both parties’ allies will be extraordinarily high. In the 2024 race, the combined candidate and outside spending aggregate figure exceeded $40 million. It is probable the financial totals will be even higher in 2026.
Rep. Evans will continue to raise and bank campaign funds as the Democrats engage in what promises to be an intense fight for the party nomination. It’s possible the field will thin as the campaign progresses, however. Some of the contenders will be forced to drop their bid after the party endorsing convention if they fail to make the ballot through delegate votes and don’t choose the signature petition route. The Democratic endorsing assembly will likely be held in late April. The Colorado primary is scheduled for June 30, 2026.
Expect to read much more about this race as the campaign unfolds throughout the bulk of the current election cycle.