ICYMI: Democrats Poised for Expensive Primary in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District

New reporting shows that Democrats are poised for an expensive and messy primary in Colorado’s 8th congressional district.

“While Gabe Evans is delivering commonsense solutions, whoever is left at the end of the Democrats’ radical rat race in Colorado’s 8th congressional district will be nothing but a bruised, out of touch liberal who will be resoundingly rejected by Coloradans.”  – NRCC spokesman Zach Bannon

Read more from Washington Reporter here or see excerpts below:

EXCLUSIVE: Democrats poised for expensive primary in Colorado
Washington Reporter
Matthew Foldi
April 10, 2025

Inside Elections noted that “Caraveo may be angling for a rematch, but not all Democrats are happy about that prospect, and the party could face a contentious primary.”

Unfortunately for Caraveo, Democratic state Rep. Manny Rutinel is already in the race, and he raised an impressive $1 million already. However, Rutinel’s campaign finance records suggest there’s already a slowdown in enthusiasm for him, which could open the door for Caraveo. Rutinel raised around $400,000 in his first 24 hours, got to $500,000 within around 48 hours, and then took about two weeks to get to reach $1 million.

Whether Democrats nominate Caraveo, Rutinel, or someone else to face Evans, they will be in for a battle against the incumbent, who has already done introduced 6 bills, the majority of which are bipartisan. It took Caraveo until September of her first year to reach that mark. Evans’s legislation has covered topics ranging from supporting veterans to tackling sanctuary state policies to protecting Medicaid to helping American jobs.

[…]

From Evans’s standpoint, both Rutinel and Caraveo have unique weaknesses. In the state legislature, Rutinel recently voted for legislation that would strip parents’ rights if they use gender-affirming language with their children, and Caraveo’s one term in Congress would give the freshman plenty to litigate as well.

During her time in D.C., Caraveo staked out terrain firmly to the left on issues ranging from immigration to energy policy. She called on the Biden administration to loosen immigration rules, opposed legislation to secure the border, and voted against legislation to lower energy costs. Her office was also marked by unusually high staff turnover.

Evans could also hone in on Caraveo’s time as a state legislator too; she introduced a law during her tenure in the State House that has been linked to the increase of fentanyl deaths in Denver.