Dr. Yadira Caraveo is used to being the first to do things in her family. Even she never expected to be the first Latina elected to Congress from the state of Colorado.
Yadira Caraveo’s family was never political.
But her parents, Elsa and Hector Caraveo, had big aspirations after moving to suburban Adams County from a small town in Chihuahua, Mexico, in the 1970s, then having four children.
“We expected all the kids to go to college and have an education,” Elsa said Thursday outside her home in Thornton. “But we never expected to have a congresswoman-elect.”
Yadira Caraveo, 41, a Democratic state representative and pediatrician from Thornton, defied the political oddsmakers last week when she eked out a victory over Republican state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer of Brighton to become the first person to represent Colorado’s new 8th Congressional District. She will also be the first Latina to represent Colorado in Congress.
“I’ve been an underdog my entire life,” Caraveo said. “I remember people telling me, ‘You can’t go to medical school, people like you don’t become doctors.’ This was just another challenge to rise up to through hard work.”
Yet that victory was very fragile, as the Libertarian candidate earned 9,300 votes — well more than the approximately 2,400 vote margin Caraveo won by. This time, the Libertarian and Republican Parties have an alliance to prevent the spoiler effect. She may lose in 2024 to a far-right legislator named Gabe Evans. Her fate is in the hands of voters now, much like what she claims about Joe Biden. She’s been an effective legislator even amidst the total paralysis in D.C., so her loss would be acute.
The question for Rep. Yadira Caraveo is whether winning by a plurality of the vote in 2022 makes her especially vulnerable this time around.
Like reading election-themed articles? I am continuing a massive series of them each Sunday and Wednesday morning! Make sure to follow #SaveTheMajority and the group Save the Majority so you don’t miss important races down the ballot!
Rep. Yadira Caraveo is one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents in the nation. She resides in a district that Joe Biden barely won in 2020. She only won with a plurality of the vote in 2022. That’s why I’ve included her in a group of 22 incumbents or open-seat races we can help defend. #SaveTheMajority Fund.
Dr. Yadira Caraveo for Colorado-8
Official House Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Threads
Campaign Website | Facebook | Twitter | DONATE | Volunteer
What’s the Big Idea?
County results for CO-08 in 2022.
THIS DISTRICT IS A TOSSUP, with an EVEN PVI.
Colorado’s 8th district is new as of 2022 redistricting, so it doesn’t have much of a history. The area trended to the left in recent elections. According to Dave’s Redistricting App, in 2016 Trump won the area covered by this district 46.4% to 44.6%. For 2020, Daily Kos Elections has Biden winning the district by a 50.8% to 46.3% spread. According to the Independent Redistricting Commission, there were 8 statewide elections from 2016 to 2020 with an average differential of 1.3% for Democrats. That means it is possible for either one of them to win the district in 2024.
The notable thing about this district is that it has a high proportion of Hispanic residents as a percentage of the population — more than anywhere else in Colorado. 38.5% of the adult population replied as Hispanic in the 2020 Census. This likely gave Caraveo a leg up in the 2022 primary where she secured the nomination.
The only election for Colorado’s 8th district was a nail-biter, and it took a few days to decide the winner. Rep. Yadira Caraveo’s win was seen as an upset, mainly because polling had GOP State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer ahead. However, Caraveo wound up winning by 0.7%, or about 2,400 votes. This 48.4% to 47.7% margin is why our incumbent is seen as very prone to losing this time around.
Here’s where the 8th district race will be won.
-
Denver Northern Suburbs: It is critical that Caraveo bring out her home base in the suburbs north of Denver with the maximum turnout possible. It is the largest source of blue votes and if it doesn’t come through, we stand little chance of winning.
-
Greeley: I realize that college campus turnout is usually flat-out abysmal, but Caraveo must figure out a way to turn out the Northern Colorado University vote. Greeley is a large enough town outside of campus to help offset other portions of the district, but that campus is key to a win.
Here’s where we need to keep the margins down, or we lose.
-
Weld County Outside of Greeley: This is fracking country, and where the Weld County secession from Colorado movement started. Caraveo isn’t going to pick up many votes outside of Greeley, and if they turn out at an unexpectedly high level, there could be issues winning on our end.
-
Denver Northern Exurbs: As you creep close to the Weld County line, the politics creep rightwards and there are more MAGA supporters in the Denver exurbs. There are blue precincts according to Dave’s Redistricting App out this far, but there are a lot more red ones. It is important to turn out those blue precincts and hope the red ones don’t overwhelm them.
Rep. Yadira Caraveo: The Pediatrician with Huge Dreams
Rep. Yadira Caraveo is the first Latina elected to Congress from the state of Colorado.
Dr. Yadira Caraveo was born in 1980 to undocumented immigrants later given amnesty during the Reagan administration. She spent her undergraduate years at Regis University, finding time to volunteer for Obama’s campaign in 2008. She eventually earned her Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Colorado. She completed her residency in pediatrics at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center while also being involved in the union there.
Caraveo would return to the Denver metro area and was a practicing pediatrician in Thornton, Colorado until getting elected to Congress. This includes while serving in the Colorado State House, which she was elected to in 2018. She would eventually run for Congress for Colorado’s new 8th Congressional district in 2022 and win.
Caraveo has one of the most bipartisan records of any legislator in Congress. For instance, she helped promote a bipartisan package of immigration reforms earlier this year. She supported the bipartisan border security bill before it was jettisoned thanks to Trump. She also agrees that DACA recipients should have a pathway to citizenship. She also knows that shortages of healthcare workers are increasingly being filled by immigrants and she will work to make pathways to come here easier for them.
Another issue where Caraveo has been strong is the fight against illicit drugs. Her first bill combatting new threats such as xylazine passed through Congress and was signed into law by President Biden. Even during her state legislature days, she wasn’t afraid to take on tough challenges. She fought to reduce the potency of cannabis edibles and to pass age restrictions on them.
A final place where Caraveo finds bipartisan cooperation is on rural issues. Her district contains the most productive agricultural county east of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. She is a part of the House Agriculture Committee and is currently working on a five-year extension of the Farm Bill. She is all about trying to save the rural hospitals in her district and across the country. Many need upgrades to survive but don’t have the funds, and that is Caraveo’s main priority.
Dr. Yadira Caraveo is strong on other issues that matter to the denizens of Colorado’s 8th district. Her issues page on her official House website is probably the best source of information to gauge where she stands on other concerns.
Gabe Evans: Ending the American Dream
State Rep. Gabe Evans is the challenger in 2024, and he isn’t hiding his far-right record at all.
Gabe Evans is the descendant of Mexican immigrants. He went to Patrick Henry College and majored in government and strategic intelligence. After college, he enrolled in the Virginia National Guard and then the Colorado National Guard. He reached the rank of captain while serving in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2012-13. He learned to fly Black Hawk helicopters and eventually fought wildfires and led rescue missions in Colorado.
For his civilian job, Evans first chose to be a police officer, rising to the rank of lieutenant in the Arvada Police Department. He was honorably discharged from the Colorado National Guard in 2019, and retired from police work in 2022. Evans also worked as a rancher and a concealed carry firearms instructor. Evans is the current state representative for Colorado’s 48th district. He won this conservative district with 63.3% of the votes cast in 2022 and is now the nominee for Colorado’s 8th district. He won the primary with 76% of the vote and was preferred by national Republicans over Janak Joshi.
It should come as no surprise that Evans is an election denier, as it seems to be a requirement to run for office as a member of the GOP these days. He peddled the Big Lie, even after the heinous 1/6 insurrection. Not only that, but Evans supports a radical group that wants to totally rewrite the US Constitution. A win for Gabe Evans is a win for those who seek to liquidate the American dream and enshrine male supremacy.
Evans supported overturning Roe, and he also supports an abortion ban with no exceptions. He refused to stand up for abortion providers and those from out-of-state seeking abortion care. He’s even voted against restricting crisis pregnancy centers.
Evans is also dangerous for Colorado’s LGBTQ+ community. He strongly opposes same-sex marriage and even compared it to “incest, pederasty, and bestiality.” In a voter guide this cycle, he said he “strongly agrees'' that marriage should be between “one man and one woman.”
Despite being the descendant of Mexican immigrants, Evans is another politician willing to pull up the ladder behind him. He is all about building the Trump border wall and about re-implementing the “Remain in Mexico” policy for asylum-seekers. He would even limit asylum claims further which would make migrants turn to the coyotes and cartels taking advantage of the situation.
That’s not to say that these are the only issues where Evans is ready to kill the American dream. A full list of abhorrent stances can be found on Evans’ campaign website and the DCCC opposition file. Ballotpedia was also helpful to get to know the real Gabe Evans.
How Can You Help?
This is what I term an “orphan race” because it is not in a swing state for the Presidential race and there is no Senate race in the state to boost turnout. It is quite possible that Trump could win this district in 2024, which would make our re-election prospects even tougher.
Rep. Yadira Caraveo has practically won the fundraising race already. Gabe Evans has struggled so far, and he is unlikely to catch up to the huge warchest Caraveo has amassed.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo plans to report raising nearly $1.8 million in the most recent fundraising quarter [2024 Q2] in a bid to defend Colorado's battleground 8th Congressional District, her campaign told Colorado Politics.
The first-term lawmaker heads into the general election with an eye-popping $3.3 million in the bank for a race that could determine which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives once ballots are counted in November.
That doesn’t mean that the GOP has given up on this race. The Congressional Leadership Fund has booked $5.1M for this race, and the NRCC also will spend $2.3M here. To defend this seat, the DCCC has purchased $1.6M in airtime, while the House Majority PAC has reserved $3.9M. This will be an expensive and nasty ad war in the Denver media market!
While the Colorado GOP is embroiled by infighting and backbiting politics, the Colorado Democratic Party is recruiting people to help keep this district in the blue column. The Horizon Project instructs people on how to deep canvass, organize, and activate voters in 2024.
Rep. Yadira Caraveo is going to need volunteers to raise awareness of this race. If you are interested in learning how to organize, her campaign is hosting a virtual workshop dedicated to teaching relational organizing training. If you live in the Denver metro area, Caraveo has a door-knocking operation on July 27th. The details for the event are here. She has been really active in creating events, so if these dates don’t work keep an eye out for more of them.
If you live in the Denver metro area and wish to sign up to volunteer on a more permanent basis for Rep. Yadira Caraveo, I’ve included a link to do so at the top and the bottom of this article.
This race is definitely one that could go either way in spite of Caraveo’s huge financial advantage. The fact that she only barely won in 2022 is cause for concern given that a Libertarian candidate got the remaining votes that separated the two contenders. According to Daily Kos Elections, Rep. Yadira Caraveo sits in the 8th most vulnerable seat held by a Democratic incumbent.
Gabe Evans is looking to capitalize upon any stumbles the Democratic Party makes in Colorado. “Lapdog Gabe” will have to defend the national GOP in a swing district which is not an easy proposition. His record is far-right, which may work in the state house district he represents but should be an albatross in a swing seat such as this one.
The key is to make sure that there is no turnout drop-off in this district when compared to 2020. If Caraveo manages to get her base to show up, she will win. The question is whether Rep. Yadira Caraveo can win another term after only winning a plurality of the vote in her first election to Congress.
Dr. Yadira Caraveo for Colorado-8
Official House Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Threads
Campaign Website | Facebook | Twitter | DONATE | Volunteer
Here is the Save the Majority 2024 Fund on ActBlue! There are plenty of Democratic members of the House that are still vulnerable to being defeated. These 17 members need a boost! Please donate and then share a link to this site on your social media! #SaveTheMajority