Democrat Manny Rutinel unseats Republican incumbent Gabe Evans in 8th Congressional District

BRIGHTON — Former state Rep. Manny Rutinel, a Democrat, decisively unseated Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans on Tuesday night in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, an outcome that helps dismantle the GOP’s grip on Washington, D.C. 

Rutinel was leading Evans, who was seeking a second term, 56%-41% at 9:49 p.m. when The Associated Press called the race for Rutinel. In third place was Libertarian Dave Wood, with 4% of the vote. 

In a district that was drawn to be a tossup, Rutinel’s margin of victory was stunning.

“Tonight, the people of Colorado showed that in America you can be the son of a single mom who survived for many months on Medicaid and food stamps, who worked for many years at McDonald’s, and you can go on to become a member of Congress,” Rutinel said in a victory speech at his campaign watch party in Commerce City, where he lives.

He also reached out to supporters of his opponent in a written statement.

“To everyone who voted for Congressman Evans: I will be your congressman as much as anyone’s,” Rutinel said. “I’ll work hard every day to make you proud.”

Evans refused to concede when he spoke to supporters at his election night watch party in Brighton at about 9 p.m.

“We are going to fight till the very end, until every single vote is counted,” he said, noting that he was losing on election night two years ago — albeit by a much smaller margin. 

But Evans seemed to tacitly acknowledge his congressional tenure, thanking his campaign staff and family and reflecting on his time in Washington, D.C. 

“We know that there’s some ground to make up,” he said, an understatement given he trailed by more than 10 percentage points.

Evans, who lives in Fort Lupton, never shied away from Donald Trump, even as the war in Iran sent gasoline and diesel prices soaring and made the president increasingly unpopular. Instead, Evans argued — dubiously — that Colorado Democrats were to blame for rising fuel and other consumer costs. 

“When you look at where Colorado ranks compared to the other 50 states, that gives you an indication as to whether the cost of living issues in Colorado are the result of national issues and state issues,” Evans told CBS Colorado in a recent interview. “Yeah, things are expensive in Colorado. But that is a result of state-level policies.”

Rutinel’s victory comes despite questions about the long list of changing policy positions that dogged his campaign from start to finish. The Commerce City Democrat abandoned his veganism and animal rights views as he ran for Congress in a district that could be called Colorado’s agricultural capital. Then, during the campaign, he changed his stances on topics like healthcare, oil and gas and student debt.

“What Manny Rutinel believes (other than that he should be in Congress) is one of the great mysteries in Colorado politics this year,” 9News anchor Kyle Clark quipped on social media.

Evans spent the campaign pummeling Rutinel over the more liberal positions he used to hold. Rutinel beat up Evans over his ties to Trump. 

“‘Absolute chaos’ are the words that I would describe how Donald Trump and Gabe Evans have handled the war in Iran,” Rutinel told The Colorado Sun last month.

The attacks were amplified by about $40 million in super PAC spending during the election cycle, according to the campaign finance tracking site Open Secrets, some of which came during the Democratic primary in the district, where Rutinel beat out former state Rep. Shannon Bird. That made the 8th District race the most expensive congressional election in Colorado this year — by far.

A few million more dollars were spent by super PACs to benefit Rutinel than Evans. 

Late in the race, Our Heritage Matters, a super PAC with yet-to-be-reported funders, began spending in the 8th District to undermine Evans and boost Wood, the Libertarian candidate. The Denver Post reported the group sent voters a mailer accusing Evans of being too liberal and featuring an image of the congressman riding a donkey, a symbol of the Democratic Party. 

The spending appeared to be an attempt to make Wood a spoiler in the race similar to 2022, when the Libertarian candidate in the district won more vote share than the Republican candidate lost by. 

The PAC, Our Heritage Matters, won’t have to report its donors until December because of when it was formed and began spending on the race. 

The candidates themselves raised and spent massive sums, too. Through mid-October, Evans had spent nearly $6 million and Rutinel had spent more than $8 million.

The one debate between Rutinel and Evans — Rutinel declined to participate in more — was effectively an hour-long boxing match where the two candidates repeated the attack lines aired in their campaigns’ nonstop TV and digital ads. 

Evans called himself common sense and labeled Rutinel as “crazy.” Rutinel kept repeating how Evans had sided with Trump “time and time again.”

But the lopsided result Tuesday, in a district that was never supposed to be won or lost by such a large margin, suggested the race’s outcome may have been politically baked in from the start. 

Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” fittingly played at Evans’ dour watch party in Brighton as it became immediately clear after the polls closed in Colorado that the GOP was in for a rough night.

Robert Pape, a 34-year-old voter casting his ballot Tuesday in Westminster, said he voted for Rutinel. Pape, who said he always votes for Democratic candidates, was “hoping for more checks and balances.”

For Ranses Solis, an 18-year-old Democrat voting in Thornton on Tuesday, his reasoning for voting for Rutinel was simple: “Just cause he’s not with Trump.” 

This year is the first since the 8th District, which spans Denver’s northern suburbs along U.S. 85 into Greeley, was created in 2021 that a race in the perennial tossup has been called on election night. 

In 2022, the first election in the newly created district, it wasn’t until a day after polls closed that Republican state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer conceded the race to Democratic state Rep. Yadira Caraveo. In 2024, Caraveo didn’t concede to Evans until nearly a week after Election Day.

The races were decided by about 2,500 votes in both 2022 and 2024.

Rutinel won’t have much time to catch his breath before he’ll need to start thinking about running for reelection in two years. Republicans are sure to make unseating him a priority in two years given the 8th District’s competitiveness on paper. 

Trump won the district by 2 percentage points in 2024. Democratic President Joe Biden won it in 2020 and Trump won it in 2016.

State and national Democrats privately grumbled throughout this year’s race that Rutinel was a weak candidate, especially because of his changing views. They guessed he would have lost in a less favorable political environment to Democrats and expressed concern about his 2028 chances.

In his victory speech, Rutinel said he understood the work ahead of him in Washington.

“This is an incredible responsibility,” he said. “A responsibility to listen and represent the people of our great district.”

Colorado Sun staff writer Parker Yamasaki contributed to this report.

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