It’s official. Unseating Republican Rep. Gabe Evans will be a major goal for House Democrats this election cycle.
The DCCC, the House Democrats’ campaign arm, listed freshman Evans as one of their top targets in the mid-term elections next year.
“Gabe Evans is running scared, and he should be. From tanking the economy, gutting Medicaid, abandoning our veterans, to making everything more expensive, he’s broken his promises to Coloradans, and it’s going to cost him his seat,” DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene said in a comment.
Voters may have a lot of choices for which Democrat they put up against him.
So far state Rep. Manny Rutinel and John Szemler of Thornton have entered the race. Former Rep. Yadira Caraveo and Treasurer Dave Young are also reportedly considering jumping into the Democratic primary.
Evans is a veteran and former police officer who served one term in the state House before running for Congress.
That Evans is on the Democrats’ target list of 35 vulnerable Republicans is not surprising. Evans defeated Caraveo by less than 2,500 votes last November, flipping the seat to the red column. It was the second slimmest victory for Republicans, who captured the House majority this Congress by just over 7,300 votes in three key contests.
The DCCC has been especially critical of some of Evans’s actions in Congress so far, including not holding in-person town halls and supporting his party’s budget resolution, which called for a $880 billion cut for the Energy & Commerce committee. It’s a cut that many, including members of his own party, fear can only happen if the committee cuts Medicaid.
The House Republicans’ campaign arm, as well as leadership, are expected to help defend Evans’s seat. His campaign is part of joint fundraising committees with Speaker Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Whip Tom Emmer.
The NRCC has been pushing back on claims that Evans will cut Medicaid and trumpeting Evans’ support for immigration and “delivering for his constituents.”
NRCC spokesman Zach Bannon said Evans “is putting the people of Colorado first, and voters will send him back to Congress next fall."
The NRCC’s list of target Democrats does not include any from Colorado this cycle, but last time around Caraveo was one of their targets.
The DCCC has already created a candidate fund for the Democrat that wins the primary next spring. It should help augment their fundraising. The NRCC did the same in the 2024 cycle before Evans won the primary.
Established in 2021, the 8th Congressional District was designed to be a swing seat, the state’s only one. It was one of the most expensive and hard-fought congressional races in both 2022 and 2024.
The DCCC announcement just cements the likelihood of another expensive race for 2026.
