In this final stretch before ballots start heading to voters, the candidates in Colorado’s most competitive congressional race had a busy weekend of campaigning.
One common theme between Democratic incumbent Yadira Caraveo and GOP challenger Gabe Evans? The need to connect with the district’s large Latino population.
Colorado’s Eighth Congressional District was created in the most recent round of redistricting and covers the fast-growing communities stretching from Denver’s northern suburbs up to Greeley. It is both the state’s most racially diverse seat, with people of color making up just over half of its residents, and its most politically balanced.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee recently hosted an event for Caraveo in Weld County tied to celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month.
Caraveo, a pediatrician and daughter of Mexican immigrants, is Colorado’s first Latina member of congress. The gathering in Greeley, which is forty percent Hispanic, was heavily centered around Latino voices and Latinos in power around the state.
The event was held at Los Comales, a popular local taqueria. About 50 people attended, including local leaders and representatives from groups like the Latino Coalition of Weld County.
“We have about — what is it? — about 32 more days to knock on every door, have phone conversations, talk to the Latino community about how it is high time that we don't get discounted as a block of people who don't vote or will not be listened to," Caraveo told the crowd as she urged them to get active.
In Congress and during her reelection campaign, Caraveo has tried to chart a middle course on immigration. She split with the majority of her party this summer when she voted to condemn the Biden administration’s handling of the border.
“I think both parties are at fault for what has happened on the border,” Caraveo told CPR News. “It's been 40 years since we had comprehensive immigration reform. The last time that there was anything done was when my parents naturalized their status in the ‘80s, in the Reagan Administration. We've had trifecta governments for Democrats and Republicans that have not taken care of this issue.”
Caraveo supported the deal worked out in the Senate earlier this year, which would have stepped up enforcement on the border while also increasing legal immigration. Caraveo accused Republicans of choosing to play politics with the issue.
“We were really close this year. The Senate had a bipartisan deal that neither Democrats or Republicans loved, which usually is the making of a good bill, and President Trump decided that he would rather have him and his fellow Republicans campaign on this, then actually come to a solution,” said Caraveo.
She hopes that this problem can be solved within the next term and called for both parties to come together to work on it.
Stacy Suniga, president of the Latino Coalition of Weld County, was among those who attended the event. She emphasized the importance of members of the Latino community voicing their concerns and voting.
“We need to get Latinos engaged, and for the ones who are already engaged, we need to give them factual information,” Suniga said.
Suniga said her non-partisan group propels or endorses candidates who care about Latino issues, regardless of party affiliation.
“We want to see Latinos step forward and represent. Whether it’s for city council or the school board, we want to see them get involved in leadership.” Suniga said.
Rhonda Solis, who represents this district on the State Board of Education was also at the event. As only the third Latino elected to the board, she said it’s important for Latinos to be involved now, to empower the next generation.
“We don’t want to be the first and the last,” Solis said. “We’re saying — we’re the first, who’s next?”
At the southern end of the district, a national figure throws his weight behind Evans
On Sunday, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson made his second visit to the district, rallying campaign volunteers in Thornton to support state Rep. Gabe Evans. In front of a crowd of about 100 supporters, Johnson said this tossup seat is one of the few races across the nation that will determine control of the U.S House, and Evans has the party’s full support.
“We're going to help fund his campaign. We're going to give him air cover,” Johnson said. “At the end of the day, it's not about the quantity of cash, it's about the quality of the candidate, and you got one of the best ones in America right here.”
Johnson said he’s on a final campaign sprint through 65 different cities this month, trying to ensure his party holds the House.
The Speaker said the stakes this fall are incredibly high, and painted it as a stark choice on a future vision for America. He said the GOP is trying to conserve the principles of individual freedom, limited government, the rule of law and peace through strength.
A roster of down-ballot candidates also took turns introducing themselves to supporters at the Johnson event. Yazmin Navarro is challenging Solis for her Board of Education seat and said she's been able to share the lessons of her immigrant childhood and her concerns for parents rights directly with the district's Spanish-speaking voters.
Thornton, like Greeley where Caraveo rallied, is a city with a large number of Latinos. While those voters have traditionally favored Democrats, Johnson said he believes they’re increasingly open to the GOP’s message.
“I'm convinced after this election, they're going to count the ballots (and) they're going to see that we had a demographic shift,” said Johnson. “I think we're going to have a record number of Hispanic and Latino voters come into the Republican party.”
Evans’ maternal grandfather immigrated from Mexico, context he brings up when talking about immigration on the campaign trail.
Evans said immigration and border issues, along with cost of living, are the top concerns he hears when he talks to voters in the district. Like Caraveo, he pitches himself as someone who can get things done and bring people together.
“We flip this seat, we can continue to have that conversation with our Hispanic friends and neighbors because my story is their story,” said Evans. “They want the same things that my parents and my grandparents gave to me — that safe, prosperous, free place to live, to work, to grow up, to generate that generational wealth and live the American dream.”
In such a closely divided district, both candidates are racing to the finish line, trying to find every last voter they can win over to their vision for the seat, and for the nation.
Editor's Note: The story has been updated with information about the candidates for the Eighth District board of education seat.
