Complete Colorado reports that the Democratic primary in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District between Manny Rutinel and Shannon Bird has turned ugly as the two candidates fight for the chance to challenge Republican incumbent Gabe Evans in November. The district, made up of parts of Adams, Larimer, and Weld counties, is considered one of the most competitive in the country, and Complete Colorado says the recent 9News debate exposed weaknesses, reversals, and attacks from both Democrats.
All you need to remember is this: both of these Democrats served in the Colorado State Legislature while Colorado slid deeper into decline, and now they want to take the same philosophy to Washington, D.C.? Hard no. That is like watching someone flood the basement, then asking them to remodel the kitchen.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Complete Colorado says the primary has turned ugly, with Rutinel and Bird trying to separate themselves before facing Gabe Evans. Translation: Democrats are doing the political equivalent of a bar fight in a glass house while Evans sits outside with nearly $3.5 million in the bank and a lawn chair.
- Rutinel leaned hard into his personal story as the son of a single Mexican immigrant mother, while Bird pointed to her record in the legislature and her history of winning a contested election. Fine. Stories matter. Records matter more.
- On energy, both candidates used an “all of the above” answer. Bird said natural gas matters for affordability while renewables scale up. Rutinel also talked about oil, gas, jobs, and low prices, despite Complete Colorado noting he has previously said he would ban fracking and was arrested at a college protest on the issue.
- On Medicaid, the two fought over the state budget and whether Rutinel voted for cuts, while Bird said she would have voted no. Complete Colorado quotes Republican state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer saying Medicaid was not cut but actually increased by 3.6%, and that Bird did not fight when Gov. Polis removed a planned Medicaid increase during a special session.
- The article says the race has turned nasty, with Rutinel accusing Bird of siding with Trump and Republicans on ICE-related issues, and Bird accusing Rutinel of repeated lies and taking donations from ICE contractors. So much for the party of unity, decency, democracy, and emotional support yard signs.
My Bottom Line
This is the Colorado Democrat machine eating its own appetizers before the main course.
The party that lectures everyone else about civility, democracy, misinformation, decency, extremism, dark money, and saving civilization is already clawing at its own face in one of Colorado’s most competitive congressional districts. Apparently, democracy is sacred until ambition walks into the room wearing campaign shoes.
And the stakes are real. CD8 is not some Boulder faculty lounge race where the winner gets a tote bag and a podcast invite. This is Adams, Larimer, and Weld County territory. Working families, energy jobs, agricultural communities, suburbs, commuters, small businesses, and people who do not have time for legislative word salad. Whoever survives this Democratic primary has to explain why Colorado should export the same governing philosophy that helped make this state more expensive, more regulated, more chaotic, and less livable.
That is the real point. Rutinel and Bird are not fresh outsiders who just found the Capitol gift shop. Both served in the legislature. Both participated in the system that gave Colorado more mandates, more cost pressure, more regulatory fog, and more political theater. Now they want to take that act to Washington like America is begging for a Denver rerun.
Meanwhile, Gabe Evans has no primary opponent and nearly $3.5 million waiting in the bank, according to the article. He gets to watch Democrats burn cash and credibility while they accuse each other of betrayal, inconsistency, dark-money politics, and moral failure. If this were a sitcom, the laugh track would be a campaign finance report.
Regular voters should see the larger lesson: these people cannot manage their own cage match, but they still want to manage your life. They cannot keep their own primary from becoming a consultant-fed wood chipper, but they promise they know how to fix energy, health care, immigration, education, and the economy.
Hard no.
Source: Complete Colorado
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