District: CO-08
Cook Political Ranking: Toss Up
Performance Voter Index: EVEN
Manny Rutinel is a State Representative who is running for Colorado’s 8th Congressional District. He has been representing Colorado’s 32nd House district since 2023. Rutinel’s life story reflects a path shaped by early economic hardship. Raised in a family that relied on public assistance, he took on demanding jobs from a young age to help make ends meet. Despite unstable housing during his early college years, he continued his education, beginning at community college before transferring to a public university. He went on to serve as an economist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and worked as a first responder after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. His experiences ultimately led him to attending and earning a law degree from Yale. Rutinel is now running for Colorado’s 8th because he wants “to bring a real voice to our nation’s capital to improve the lives of everyday people so that every Coloradan has an honest opportunity to succeed.”
Colorado’s 8th Congressional District is based in Denver’s northern suburbs and stretches along Interstate 25, encompassing rural sections of Adams County, Larimer County, and Weld County. Ahead of the 2022 race, this district was redrawn by an independent redistricting commission, becoming Colorado’s newest, most competitive, and most diverse congressional seat. Under these lines, in 2020, President Biden would have won the district by 4.7 points; however, President Donald Trump won this district in 2024 by two points under the new lines. The district is currently represented by GOP Rep. Gabe Evans. This district has the largest Latinx population in the state, with 25% of the voting-age population identifying as Latinx. In 2024, the race for CO-08 saw nearly $29 million in outside spending, with Democratic incumbent Rep. Yadira Caraveo raising $8 million, and then Republican challenger Gabe Evans raising $2.6 million. In 2026, Manny Rutinel is challenging incumbent Rep. Gabe Evans, and the DCCC has included him in their Red to Blue program. In 2022, Yadira Caraveo became the first Latinx person to represent Colorado in Congress after winning this newly created District. In 2024, she lost re-election to Republican Rep. Evans by fewer than 2,500 votes; she is not running in 2026. V4P PAC has not yet endorsed in this race.