Manny Rutinel wins Colorado’s toss-up House primary

Manny Rutinel won the Democratic primary in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District on June 30, defeating former state Rep. Shannon Bird 61% to 35% in preliminary returns and securing a fall matchup with Republican Rep. Gabe Evans.

Colorado’s 8th District stretches northeast from the Denver suburbs to Greeley and covers parts of Adams, Larimer and Weld counties. It is Colorado’s most Latino district and includes Commerce City, Welby, Brighton, Greeley, Johnstown, Northglenn and Thornton. Since the seat was created after the 2020 census, it has been decided by razor-thin margins: Yadira Caraveo won it for Democrats in 2022 by less than 1,600 votes, and Evans flipped it in 2024 by less than 2,500 votes.

Evans, a first-term incumbent, ran unopposed in the Republican primary. The district is a toss-up.

Rutinel, who represents Colorado House District 32 in Commerce City, Welby and nearby unincorporated Adams County, cast himself as the more progressive candidate throughout the primary. He argued that he was better positioned to push back against ICE, while Bird presented herself as a more moderate option better suited to assembling a wider general-election coalition. The two candidates clashed sharply in a televised debate and at a Democratic forum, with immigration policy, legislative records, affordability and whether they would support impeaching President Donald Trump among the main dividing lines.

Bird conceded and urged Democrats to unite behind Rutinel, saying he would fight to protect freedoms and lower costs. Rutinel, an environmental attorney, entrepreneur, first-generation American and the son of a single mother, made environmental justice, affordability and civil rights the core of his campaign.

Those issues echoed in Greeley, where voters cited rising living costs, Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, housing prices, food costs and federal cuts to aid as top concerns. Some said they had already backed Rutinel after seeing him at community events and protests.