One of U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans’ Democratic challengers — not Yadira Caraveo — holds early fundraising edge

Democratic challenger Manny Rutinel holds an early fundraising edge over U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, a freshman Republican, in what will surely be a marquee race for Colorado’s 2026 congressional elections.

That snapshot in the 8th Congressional District — reflecting activity before former Rep. Yadira Caraveo jumped in this week — was among early data that emerged this week in several federal and state races that are beginning to take shape. Candidates who’ve begun raising money for statewide office and for Congress had campaign finance reports due Tuesday.

Rutinel, a state representative, reported raising nearly $1.2 million in the first quarter of the year, through March 31. Evans raised about $810,000, about a third of which was from joint fundraising committees associated with Republican leadership.

But the balance flips when it comes to their war chests, as Rutinel spends more rapidly to launch his campaign. He began April with about $658,000 on hand, while Evans had about $755,000, according to their filings.

The 8th District has been among the most competitive in the nation since it was established following the 2020 census. Caraveo won it in 2022, then lost to Evans in 2024. In each case, fewer than 2,500 votes separated the two major-party candidates. The district stretches from Commerce City to Greeley.

Caraveo announced on Tuesday that she hopes to recapture the seat. Her initial finance filing shows her spending about $4,000 in startup costs and bank fees, with only a few hundred dollars in cash on hand this month — all figures bound to change as the campaigns kick into high gear.

Here’s a look at two of the statewide races:

Governor’s race

Attorney General Phil Weiser, a Democrat who’s term limited in his current office, has a clear and massive head start on fundraising over all of the potential Republican nominees for the governor’s office, according to state campaign finance records. He reported raising more than $1.9 million through March 31, including a transfer of nearly $158,000 leftover from his attorney general campaign, and had $1.7 million still on hand.

But how his war chest stacks up to that of U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, his chief rival for the Democratic nomination, won’t be clear for a few more months.

Bennet announced his campaign Friday. The next fundraising filings are due July 15. One note: Bennet has about $400,000 on hand in his Senate campaign account, but Colorado campaign rules don’t allow transfers of federal campaign funds to a state candidate committee.

On the Republican side, state Sen. Mark Baisley and state Rep. Scott Bottoms reported raising about $9,000 and $5,000, respectively, since the beginning of the year.

Former U.S. Rep. Greg Lopez, who won a special election for a short-lived stint in Congress last year, also announced this week that he will run for the governorship again. His announcement was outside the reporting window, also.

Attorney general’s race

Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty reported raising about $155,000 since he launched his campaign for attorney general in February. It’s more than four times what Crisanta Duran, a former speaker of the Colorado House and fellow Democrat, reported raising in this fundraising window for the office.

But Dougherty’s total is about a third lower than than what term-limited Secretary of State Jena Griswold — who announced her campaign April 7 — initially hauled in for the AG’s race, according to her campaign Wednesday.

Griswold raised that money outside the official reporting window. Her campaign boasted of raising more than $230,000 from more than 1,100 contributors in the first 48 hours of its launch.

No Republican has reported raising any money for the race.

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