Colorado Democrat Manny Rutinel, a former anti-meat and anti-oil crusader who went great lengths to distance himself from his activist past, successfully unseated the Republican incumbent, Gabe Evans, in the state’s competitive Eighth Congressional District.
Rutinel was up 15.4 points with 81 percent of the vote counted when the race was called shortly before 11 p.m. The race was expected to be one of the closest in the nation, though Rutinel ran away with it. Evans flipped the seat in 2024 by roughly 2,500 votes.
Rutinel’s efforts to recast himself as a moderate appear to have paid off. The Democrat spent years condemning the ranching and oil industries, attacks that continued until just months before launching his congressional bid, and pushed left-wing legislation while serving in the state legislature.