DENVER — As the election nears, Coloradans are being inundated with political TV ads. Some of them exaggerate the truth, are outright false or misleading, or leave out important context voters should be aware of.
This is evident in the 8th Congressional District race between Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo and Republican challenger State Rep. Gabe Evans.
CLAIM: Two new ads from the National Republican Congressional Committee attack Caraveo, accusing her of contributing to Colorado’s fentanyl crisis. They accuse her of voting to decrease penalties for fentanyl possession when she was a state lawmaker.
WHAT THE RECORD SHOWS: Legislative records show Caraveo indeed voted in favor of a 2019 bill that reclassified possession of 4 grams or less of fentanyl as a misdemeanor. The bill had bipartisan support and Caraveo added her name as a co-sponsor.
The ads don’t mention in 2022 Caraveo voted in favor of a bill reversing the penalties in the 2019 law amid a surge in overdose deaths in Colorado.
CLAIM: Another ad from the Evans side said Caraveo is “responsible for it all,” including drugs and crime flowing into Colorado communities. The ad, which features Evans standing alongside members of law enforcement, also tries tying her to police budgets getting slashed.
CARAVEO’S ROLE: The ad is greatly misleading. As one of 535 members of Congress, and one who is new — having been elected in 2022 — Caraveo is hardly "responsible for it all." When it comes to police budgets, those are approved by local leaders, with no involvement from members of Congress.
On the other side are attack ads by groups supporting Caraveo that are missing important context.
CLAIM: One ad from the House Majority PAC, which is affiliated with House Democrats, states Evans believes gays and lesbians shouldn’t be allowed to marry. The ad also said Evans compared gay marriage to incest.
EVAN’S LETTER TO THE EDITOR: The ad refers to a letter to the editor Evans wrote in 2004. Evans was 17 years old, which the ad does not point out. The letter Evans wrote was in response to a previous article that appeared in a local newspaper. In the letter, Evans said he did not support same-sex marriage. He also said if gay people were allowed to marry, then "activities such as incest, pederasty and bestiality should be permitted."
Evans told Denver7 that like many Americans, his views on same-sex marriage have evolved in the years since he wrote the letter. He credits his experience as a soldier and a police officer for helping him evolve.
"I worked with gay and lesbian soldiers. I worked with gay and lesbian cops. I would have taken a bullet for them. They would have taken a bullet for me,” Evans said.
Evans has also stated that he supports repealing the state constitution’s ban on same-sex marriage.
CLAIM: Another ad from the House Majority PAC goes after Evans on abortion, claiming he would make abortion illegal, even in cases of rape or incest.
EVAN’S POSITION: Evans says while he is pro-life, he supports exceptions.
"I know that we have to have the flexibility to take care of those folks in these tragic situations, and so I support exceptions for rape and incest,” Evans said.
He said he also supports exceptions to save the life of the mother.
Evans wouldn’t provide a direct answer when Denver7 asked whether he supported the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
“I think the Supreme Court very clearly sent this back to the states for the states to be able to handle,” Evans said. “And we see that in the in the Constitution, in the 10th Amendment, where it talks about stuff that's not at the federal level, is explicitly delegated to the states.”
Evans said he would oppose a national abortion ban if elected to Congress.
Federal Communications Commission regulations state broadcast stations, like ABC, CBS, and NBC, are prohibited from censoring or rejecting political advertisements paid for and sponsored by legally qualified candidates. These rules do not apply to cable channels like CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.
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