Colorado’s 4th District has now been held by Republican in 50 of past 52 years
By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice
Gabe Evans has delivered on a seat Republicans always believed they could capture.
“Black Hawk helicopter pilot, Army veteran, Arvada police officer, state representative, grandson of immigrants, and now: Congressman,” said Delanie Bomar, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Congressional Committee. “Gabe Evans is a fighter for the American Dream who will work tirelessly on their behalf in Congress, and we look forward to seeing the valuable results Congressman-elect Evans will deliver for Coloradans.”
Shortly after the Kansas City Chiefs blocked the Broncos’ kick for victory on Sunday, Evans blocked Democrat Yadira Caraveo’s bid at re-election to Colorado’s 8th District seat in the U.S. House.
When she conceded the race Sunday at 3:30 p.m., it capped a successful comeback effort of Evans’ own. The one-term U.S. Rep. Caraveo once led by a somewhat comfortable 1.59% margin. On Thursday, Evans narrowed the deficit to 2,096, which represented less than one-tenth of 1% of all votes to have been counted. A day earlier, Caraveo had a 3,817-vote lead, when an estimated 16.63% of the vote remained unreported.
As of Monday, Evans held a margin of 2,596 votes over Caraveo, adding another 67 votes to the margin since Saturday.
“I have spent my entire life running toward challenge, and now I am ready to take on my next challenge — representing our communities in D.C.,” Evans said in a statement Sunday. “I am ready to fight back for a better direction for all Coloradans.”
Caraveo was the first to ever represent the 8th District, defeating Barb Kirkmeyer in 2022 in a similar post-election thriller that went back and forth. The district is often viewed as red Weld versus blue Adams counties in a hypercompetitive district without a leaning.
“It’s been the honor of a lifetime to serve the people of Colorado’s 8th District,” Caraveo said in a statement. “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.”
Evans expressed being “incredibly humbled” to have received the support to earn the seat.
“It is an honor to be entrusted with the job of representing you and your families,” he wrote in a statement.
The victory is substantial to Colorado Republicans, as it gives them a split of the delegation in the U.S. House. Republicans had endured the retirement of U.S. Reps. Ken Buck and Doug Lamborn, along with the seat held by Lauren Boebert being up for grabs, which made losses entirely possible.
Instead, the 8th District stands as the difference presently for Republicans on a nation view. As of Monday, Republicans had flipped six seats to the Democrats’ five and held a 214-204 advantage.
In the El Paso County 5th District, Jeff Crank held for Republicans with a 50,124-vote margin over River Gassen for the seat held by Rep. Doug Lamborn.
The other two districts previously held by Republicans were the 3rd and 4th. Boebert moved from the 3rd to the 4th, potentially leaving the 3rd District in doubt. Despite the presence of an admitted spoiler, Libertarian James Wiley, in the race, Hurd defeated Adam Frisch by 15,781 votes in another race too close to call on Election Night.
Colorado’s most dependably Republican district is the plus-13 4th District sometimes known as “MAGA Country”, and it did not disappoint the GOP. Boebert defeated Democrat Trisha Calvarese by 11.45%, despite her 53.6% of the vote making the result the closest margin since Cory Gardner unseated one-term Democrat Betsy Markey in 2010. A Republican has held the seat in 50 of the past 52 years. Calvarese won Arapahoe and Larimer counties and made the evening interesting by staying within 2,000 votes of Boebert in Douglas County — where half of the votes in the district are located — but Boebert carried every county on the Eastern Plains to secure victory.
Republicans had hopes for two other districts they were unable to flip. Democrat Jason Crow was re-elected in the 6th District with a 20.5% margin over Republican John Fabbricatore. Democrat Brittany Pettersen was re-elected in the 7th District with a 14.2% margin over Republican Sergei Matveyuk.
Democrats dominated in their stronghold 1st and 2nd Districts. Democrat Diana DeGette defeated Republican Valdamar Archuleta with a resounding 55.1% margin in the 1st District, and Democrat Joe Neguse earned a 39.5% margin over Marshall Dawson in the 2nd District.