Speaker of the House Mike Johnson says one Colorado Congressional race could help decide control of U.S. House
In a sign of how competitive the race in Colorado's 8th Congressional District is, U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson made his second visit to the district in seven weeks to raise money and support for Republican Gabe Evans.
Evans is challenging Democratic incumbent Yadira Caraveo.
"We're In a battle for the future of America and, when you talk about the most important races in America, this is indeed a top-five race," Johnson told a crowd in Thornton recently.
He says control of the U.S. House could all come down to CD8: "Everyone in the country is watching this race very carefully."
A recent poll by Emerson College found the race is essentially tied, but Johnson believes Evans has the lead: "We're really bullish on his chances of winning here. He's one of my favorite candidates in the country."
Evans is also endorsed by former President Donald Trump, who lost Colorado by 14 points in 2020. Johnson suggested Trump could help Evans this election.
"I go to blue states in swing districts," he said. "I spend a lot of time in places where the Republican Party is not expected to perform well and I've been pleasantly surprised. I believe in this election you're going to see a demographic shift. I think you're going to have a record number of Hispanic and Latino voters, African American Black voters, Jewish voters, union workers; people who are not traditionally big parts of the Republican base. I think they're coming over to our side this time."
CD8 is 40% Hispanic, which helped Caraveo eke out a win in 2022. But she loses that advantage this year. Evan's grandfather is a Mexican immigrant who he says earned his citizenship and two Purple Hearts in World War II.
A veteran, former police officer, and state lawmaker, Evans is what Johnson calls a workhorse not a show pony: "He's one of my favorite candidates in the country. I talk about his resume all over the country and use Gabe as an example of the high quality of people that we've recruited that are running this election."
Evans says CD8 is not only crucial for the future of the country, but the future of Colorado. He says the district has the fourth-highest energy-producing county and the eighth-highest agricultural-producing county in the nation.
He says it is also the only district that all six interstates run through: "This truly is our chance to drive the pendulum back to the center in Colorado."
He's made border security one of his top issues while Caraveo has focused on abortion rights.
In reaction to Johnson's visit, her campaign released a statement saying, "Gabe Evans keeps bringing more MAGA extremists to Colorado who would help him implement his dangerous, far-right agenda that would take away women's reproductive freedom."
Johnson dismissed the claim: "That's a red herring. What people want to know about is the economy crushing family-wide open southern border. If we have a debate on policy, Gabe wins hands down."
The candidates will have the opportunity to debate policy on Oct. 18 in the CBS News Colorado studio.
While Caraveo holds a large lead in fundraising, Johnson suggests reinforcements are on the way: "I anticipate we'll have a lot more air cover coming in. At the end of the day though, it's not really about the quantity of the cash but the quality of the candidate and Gabe is one of the highest qualified candidates we've had a long, long time."