DENVER — For nearly a week, the race to represent Colorado's 8th Congressional District has been too close to call. Officially, the race has not been called, with roughly 2,500 votes separating the candidates.
On Sunday, incumbent Democrat Representative Yadira Caraveo conceded the race and her Republican challenger Gabe Evans declared victory.
In a statement issued Sunday, Caraveo said in part:
"While this isn’t the outcome we had hoped for, the work is not over. I look forward to returning to Washington to finish out this term and will continue to be an independent voice for the people of this district.”
Meanwhile, Evans released a statement saying in part, he is "humbled to be chosen as the next Congressman for Colorado’s 8th" and thanked Caraveo for her "service and gracious concession."
Evans plans to speak publicly on Monday.
Politics
Republican Gabe Evans wins Colorado's 8th Congressional District
Colorado's 8th Congressional District is the newest in the state, and encompasses most of Adams, along with portions of Weld and Larimer counties. It was created after redistricting in 2020.
The First Vice Chairman of the Weld County Republicans, Hunter Rivera, is excited about Evans' victory.
"Over the last two years, our goal has always been to win Congressional District 8, and a lot of hard work has paid off to get us to this point," Rivera said. “Most of us did not expect the Weld dump from yesterday to be as good as it was. I mean, that changed a lot of our races here in Weld County. It definitely did.”
Rivera said the 8th Congressional District is likely the most competitive district in Colorado.
"You have Adams County. I would dare to say Adams County is a pretty blue County. You have Weld County. We're a very deep red county here in the here in the state," Rivera explained.
The race has received national attention due to it's impact on which party will control Congress.
“Over the last few days, when we kind of didn't know the results of this election, it was very interesting. Some of the calls I was getting on, and they're like, 'Well, we have these people from Elon Musk's team coming out here. We have people from Trump's team coming out here,'" Rivera recalled.
With Evans securing the seat, Colorado will send four Republicans and four Democrats to Congress.
"I think there's a lot of common ground between Republicans and Democrats. I really believe in bipartisanship," Rivera said. “My hope for Congress, regardless of which party ends up winning the majority, is I really hope they can reach across the aisle and deliver for the American people."
Shad Murib, the chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, feels differently.
"It is, I think, frustrating for a state that goes in double digits towards Democrats to have been gerrymandered into a four-four situation," Murib said. “I think we need to take a serious look at making sure our Independent Redistricting Commission is actually representative of what the state makeup looks like.”
Murib said, the small margin of victory for Evans in such a competitive district is indicative of a greater support for Democrats in Colorado.
"A loss is a loss, for sure, but I will say that Colorado stood its own in this cycle," Murib said. “Here in Colorado, we've been winning elections, and in these wave climates, been holding our own. And so, I think that's something that we want to take to the rest of the nation, to scale up, to show it doesn't matter whether you're a Democrat or Republican or unaffiliated, we need to push back on elites up and down the political spectrum and make sure that we're fighting for working people.”
Murib believes the loss of Caraveo in Congress will be felt both locally and nationally.
“As a pediatrician, a daughter of immigrants, a former state lawmaker and a member of Congress, Yadira has always stood up for anyone who needed help, regardless of their party, regardless of their background, regardless of their income. And this is a tremendous loss for the United States Congress," Murib said.
Denver7 also received the following statement from the Weld County Democrats:
Weld County Democrats were sad and heartbroken at the announcement that indeed Yadira Caraveo would concede. Scores of volunteers stepped up to work diligently on her campaign and I wish to thank all of our volunteers for their tireless dedication supporting Caraveo and all Democratic candidates. This election did not go as we had hoped, but we will continue in our mission to find and support Democratic candidates that will support Democratic ideals and strive to make Weld a county that works for all its residents.
Adams County Clerk and Recorder Josh Zygielbaum told Denver7, this election brought an "unprecedented number of ballots" and a severe snowstorm forced building closures, combined with travel risks, which impacted their timeline. As of Sunday, Zygielbaum said there's around 1,290 ballots related to the 8th Congressional District that still need to be processed. Military and overseas ballots have until Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. to arrive, which is the same deadline for any ballots that must be cured.
Zygielbaum continued to say, "we are committed to processing ballots as quickly as possible and uploading accurate results to the Secretary of State’s website as soon as possible.”
