Why Yadira Caraveo Shouldn’t Get A Second Chance— From Rising Star to Liability: A Cautionary Tale

Swing Districts Don’t Reward Consultant-Driven Triangulators

One of the hottest 2026 primaries anywhere in the country is in the suburbs north of Denver and east of Boulder from Thornton all the way up beyond Greeley, where Democrats feel they can recapture the seat from freshman Trump ally Gabe Evans. The PVI is even— Biden won by 5 in 2020 and Trump won by 2 last year— but Democrat Yadira Caraveo lost it to Evans last year because she was one of the worst Democrats in the House. Although she won Adams County with 54% of the vote, she lost Weld with 39% and Latimer with 43%. If you compare her performance to 2022 when she was first elected— 55% in Adams, 38% in Weld and 43% in Latimer— it’s clear she lost because she alienated her base.

She had entered Congress with the promise of representing a working-class, Latino-heavy swing district— but her first term revealed a careerist more interested in appeasing corporate donors and Washington consultants than fighting for the people who sent her there. Rather than carving out a strong identity rooted in economic justice or progressive values, she positioned herself as a corporate-aligned New Dem, much more conservative than her district. According to multiple scorecards, she ranked as one of the most right-leaning Dems— far out of step with the needs of her constituents.

She voted to condemn Kamala over immigration policy— a move that echoed Republican talking points and signaled a willingness to throw her own party’s leadership under the bus to court right-wing favor. Her record on energy policy was similarly out of touch. Representing a district that includes both environmental concerns and oil and gas interests, failing to deliver anything meaningful for the renewable transition or climate action her district badly needs.

Instead of building trust with either progressives or conservatives, she ended up alienating both. Groups like the League of Conservation Voters and labor allies grew disillusioned, while right-wing dark-money PACs pounced, using her muddled immigration stance to depress Latino support and suppress turnout. Her campaign was so uninspiring that Latino support dropped by nearly 20 points from her initial win in 2022 to her 2024 loss— an extraordinary collapse for someone who was supposed to represent that community.

Caraveo’s defeat in 2024 was the direct result of her failure to stand for anything beyond political triangulation. She produced a wretched record without vision, conviction or even basic strategic competence. If Democrats are serious about winning back CO-08, they’ll need a candidate who actually understands the district and is willing to fight for working families— not another placeholder propped up by consultants and corporate PACs. And there is a good candidate in the mix, state Rep. Manny Rutinel.

Yesterday Mica Soellner reported that there are half a dozen candidates, including Caraveo, and that Rutinel is the most progressive. She wrote that Caraveo “has been plagued by allegation of staff mistreatment. Caraveo has also spoken about her mental health struggles while in office. So far, neither Democratic leadership, the DCCC or any Democrats in the Colorado delegation have backed Caraveo. And the House Republican campaign arm is hardly attacking Caraveo any more than her Democratic opponents... The DCCC isn’t planning to get involved in the primary right now. Instead, Democrats are attacking Evans over Medicaid cuts and his support for President Donald Trump’s agenda.”