Rutinel ties Evans to Trump in 8th District race while softening his activist past

Democrat Manny Rutinel's bid to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans in Colorado's 8th Congressional District rests on a simple argument: Evans is aligned with Donald Trump, and Rutinel is not Evans. In their hourlong debate, the only one of the fall campaign, the former state lawmaker linked the two men in the same sentence nearly two dozen times, according to The Denver Post.

Rutinel, 31, also attacked what he called the president's "corrupt, chaotic" tariff policies and the "billionaire" donors he said support Evans. In an interview at his campaign headquarters near Thornton earlier this month, he said the campaign was making the case that Trump and Evans are driving up living costs for working Coloradans across the district.

The race has been shaped by roughly $20 million in outside spending. Rutinel's approach follows a familiar Democratic playbook: emphasize rising costs, connect the opponent to Trump, and count on the president's weak approval ratings to weigh on the Republican. With national polling giving congressional Democrats an 11-point edge, Seth Masket, a University of Denver political scientist, described the environment as "toxic" for Republicans.

Alongside that message, Rutinel has reshaped how he presents himself. Animal-rights causes were once a consistent thread in his adult life. He was a vegan, a lawyer for Earthjustice and the director of a plant-focused nonprofit, and he testified against factory farms in 2021. His campaign website omits that history, describing his Earthjustice work only as defending communities against large corporations breaking the law. In late August he held a campaign stop at which he ate a meat taco, and he later told The Post's editorial board that voters "don't care what's on my plate."

He has also adjusted policy stances. Rutinel has dropped his support for "Medicare for All" in favor of a public option and no longer backs a fracking ban, instead endorsing an "all-of-the-above energy solution." He says he would vote against the Iran war and Trump's tariffs and would restore Medicaid and Affordable Care Act funding. He supports Amendment 87, the graduated income tax measure on the Nov. 3 ballot, and told the Colorado Sun he backed military aid for Israel.

Some local Democrats have mixed views. Joe Salazar, a former state representative who was approached about running, said voters in the district prize authenticity and dislike candidates who shift with the wind. He blamed national consultants for the change in approach. Jeri Shepherd, chair of the Weld County Democratic Party, called Rutinel "a genuinely nice guy" but urged him to focus on local needs rather than consultants' advice. Others, including former Greeley City Councilman Tommy Butler and Rhonda Solis, a Greeley resident and former State Board of Education member, said kitchen-table issues such as groceries, gas and immigration arrests should take priority.

Evans and allied groups have tried to make the activism an issue. At the debate, Evans said sending "a radical activist" who has fought farmers, ranchers and oil and gas to Congress would push gas prices up to "California-style levels." Rutinel did not respond to those jabs during the debate.

The district is about 40% Latino and runs from Denver's northern suburbs into the farm and oil country of Weld County. Both elections held there so far have been decided by fewer than 3,000 votes. A Libertarian candidate, Dave Wood, is also on the ballot. Kyle Saunders, a Colorado State University political scientist, said the strategy makes sense if it reaches the 5% to 10% of voters seen as persuadable. The candidates' campaigns have spent about $11 million, and outside groups have put in at least $19 million since the June 30 primary.