Manny Rutinel, a Democratic candidate for Congress in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, won a primary race on Tuesday evening, securing his party’s bid to challenge incumbent Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colo.
Rutinel, a member of the state’s House of Representatives, faces one of the country’s most competitive races that could help decide the balance of power in Washington, D.C., where Republicans hold a governing trifecta across the House, Senate and Oval Office.
Democrats see seats like this district as a prime opportunity to pry away the GOP’s narrow grip on the House, where they have a slim majority.
Evans, the current seat holder, won the election in 2024 by just 0.8%.
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Rutinel, a former state legislator, has pitched himself as a Democrat ready to protect government programs against GOP cuts and protect minorities against government overreach.
On his website, he lists protecting Social Security and Medicaid, expanding tax credits, ending Trump’s immigration crackdown, and lowering housing costs among his top priorities.
“I was raised on Medicaid. It’s deeply personal for me and now Donald Trump and Gabe Evans are trying to destroy it to give tax breaks to their billionaire buddies,” Rutinel said in a campaign video posted to Instagram.
“I’m afraid of Donald Trump continuing to destroy our democracy and our economy and making life impossible for working people and Latino immigrants across the country.”
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Because his platform includes elements like expanding taxes on the rich and universal healthcare, Republicans have made efforts to paint Rutinel as in the same vein as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
“Those policies may sell in New York, but Coloradans aren’t buying it,” a spokesperson for Gabe Evans told Fox News Digital when asked about the similarities back in November.
Evan’s campaign echoed that thinking in its reaction to Rutinel’s win on Tuesday evening.
“Democrats have chosen a far-left, radical socialist, Mamdani-wanna-be extremist — someone who supports eliminating oil and gas, defunding law enforcement, calling farmers and ranchers horrific and threatening the industries that power our economy. As a former cop, Army veteran, grandson of Mexican immigrants, husband, father and the proud Representative of this district, I’ll continue fighting to protect and uplift Colorado’s hardworking families while keeping our communities safe and our economy strong,” Evans said in a statement.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) also issued a statement on Tuesday evening.
“The socialist takeover of the Democrat Party is no longer confined to deep-blue strongholds. The radicals are taking over battleground districts, putting must-win seats out of reach for Democrats and sinking their chances of flipping the House,” Mike Marinella, a spokesperson for the NRCC said.
Moreover, the Congressional Leadership Fund, an arm of the House Republican fundraising apparatus, highlighted a video posted to Instagram of a Mamdani campaign rally, offering it as proof that Rutinel belongs in the same bucket as Mamdani.
The video briefly shows someone who appears to be Rutinel standing behind Mamdani.
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“What does the CO-08 race have in common with the NYC Mayoral Race? Democrat Manny Rutinel is campaigning in both,” CLF pointed out in one of its ads.
Having secured his party’s nomination, Rutinel will face off against Evans in the general election on Nov. 3.
