Caraveo, Evans clash on immigration, economy, abortion in 9NEWS 8th Congressional District debate

DENVER — Colorado’s 8th Congressional District race could be one of the closest contests in the state as incumbent Yadira Caraveo (D) and state Rep. Gabe Evans (R) compete for the seat.

CD8 was created after the 2020 U.S. Census and includes parts of Adams, Larimer and Weld counties. 

The 8th District includes large population hubs like Thornton, Commerce City and Greeley, marking it as a competitive district that encompasses both suburban and rural voters north and east of Denver. Its voter makeup is 49% unaffiliated voters, and then a near even split between Democrats and Republicans, making it a unique challenge for the candidates vying to represent them.

Evans, a state representative from Fort Lupton, won the Republican primary for the 8th District against the state Republican Party’s endorsed candidate in June.

Evans is an Army veteran and former Arvada Police officer. He was formally endorsed by former President Donald Trump on June 3.

Caraveo, a pediatrician and former state lawmaker, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. She beat Republican Barbara Kirkmeyer for the seat in 2022.

The pair faced off on 9NEWS at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the only live debate of this congressional race. 

> Watch the full debate: 

Here’s what they talked about.

In political ads, both candidates have presented immigration as a top issue, and they both reiterated that stance during Tuesday’s debate. Evans, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, said he supports deporting people who are in the U.S. illegally and are committing crimes. He stopped short of saying he supports Trump’s plan to deport every person who is in the country illegally. 

“We have to aggressively target those individuals who are illegally in our communities, committing crimes, and those are the folks that we have to deport,” Evans said. 

Evans went on to say his grandfather earned his citizenship by fighting in WWII as an immigrant from Mexico. When asked if he supports Trump’s dehumanizing rhetoric toward immigrants, like calling them “animals” and saying they are “poisoning the blood of our country,” Evans skirted around the answer.

“Of course, I condemn any sort of racist sort of speech,” Evans said. He would not specifically condemn Trump’s racist rhetoric. 

Evans blamed the current border crisis on policies Caraveo supported while serving in the House. Caraveo placed the blame on both Democrats and Republicans.

“Immigration is one of the issues that more needs to be done on by both parties,” Caraveo said. “It’s been 40 years since there has been any comprehensive immigration reform, and both Democrats and Republicans have been in charge since then.”

Caraveo mentioned the immigration and foreign aid bill that was killed by Republicans after Trump fiercely opposed the deal. 

Caraveo’s views on immigration have changed over the past few years. Three years ago, she called for the defunding of Customs and Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This summer, Caraveo joined Republicans in “strongly condemning” Kamala Harris specifically and the Biden administration more broadly for failing to secure the border.

When asked why her views have changed, she said, “I think the country has changed in a crisis that both parties have set up and not offered solutions.”

Caraveo said she votes according to what her constituents want, not her own beliefs. 

“My job is to represent the 8th Congressional District, and that is what I’m doing every time I vote,” Caraveo said. 

When asked about Trump’s economic plan, which features tariffs across the board, Evans would not say whether he thought the plan would help or hurt Coloradans, specifically ranchers and farmers in the 8th District. 

Evans did emphasize economic accountability for China, which he accused of using slave labor and using their “communist government” to prop up industries. Under Trump’s economic plan, a 60% tariff would be placed on goods from China, and 20% on other imports.

“We need to make sure that we are holding China accountable for their dealings in the international community, and we’re not allowing them to take over certain sectors of our economy, because they’re not on the same playing field. They’re literally getting support from their government,” Evans said Tuesday. 

Both candidates agreed that keeping things affordable is a priority for Coloradans. What they didn’t agree on was how they should do that.

Evans said “cutting red tape” and getting rid of “punitive regulations” would empower American workers. He did not specify what those regulations would be.

Caraveo said she would support a plan that increased taxes for the wealthy – those who make more than $400,000. She emphasized her record, where she said she voted to extend the child tax credit that gives $1,800 a month to working families and decrease taxes for the middle class.

When it came to affordable housing, their records exposed their differences.

Caraveo said she helped pass a bill in the Colorado legislature that lowered late fees, and other fees like trash, for renters and made sure landlords were charging fees responsibly. 

In Congress, she said she plans to introduce a bill to fund affordability on a federal level and make sure that the legislature is looking at the way that different developments are classified and credits that landlords can use to build.

Evans returned to his “red tape” language, though he did not specify what the red tape was or how he would cut back on it.

“It’s more expensive to put the house together when there’s red tape around housing construction, as we saw in the aftermath of the Marshall Fire, where building build costs were significantly higher than anticipated because of all of that red tape,” Evans said. “All of these things contribute to a higher cost in housing.”

In 2022, Evans filled out a survey from a conservative group saying he supported banning abortion except to save the life of the mother – with no exceptions for rape or incest.

Evans went back on that Tuesday, saying his voting record in the state legislature reflects his support for those exceptions, as well as his opposition to a national abortion ban.

“I support exceptions for rape, for incest, for life of the mother, and I don’t support a national abortion ban. I received pressure as a state representative to sign on to bills from my own party that would have taken away those exceptions, and I was one of five Republicans that didn’t sign on to those,” Evans said. “My voting record on this is clear from day one.”

Across the aisle, Caraveo supports codifying Roe v. Wade, and she attacked her opponent for calling himself “as pro-life as they come.”

“That decision of whether to have a child or not, it needs to be between a doctor and a woman. As a doctor, as somebody who has been in clinics talking to women about this incredibly tough choice, that is the end all and be all of what I think abortion law should be,” Caraveo said. “It is between a woman and her doctor, not between Gabe Evans being in your exam room and telling your doctor what to do.”

Evans has supported school vouchers for private schools, using taxpayer money for private or religious schools, aligning with the GOP platform and the Project 2025 governing blueprint’s call for “universal school choice.” Evans said parents should be in control of their children’s educations. 

“I will always be a very firm believer that allowing parents, families, more choice, putting them, along with teachers, back in control of education, rather than bureaucrats, is the way that we move our education system forward,” Evans said. 

Evans is also a vocal supporter of the Christian homeschooling movement, and a member of a Christian group called Heritage Defense, which defends parents accused of beating their children, or as the group describes corporal punishment, “following biblical protocol in the training and discipline of their children.” As a state legislator Evans also voted against a ban on corporal punishment in Colorado’s public schools.

Tuesday night, Evans avoided answering a question about when he believed it was acceptable to hit a child at home and at school, and cited a state law about when it is legal to use physical force against a minor. 

Caraveo is running an ad claiming she broke with her party to back tougher penalties. However, she voted with the majority of Colorado House Democrats to de-felonize possession of small amounts of fentanyl in 2019, then voted with the majority of Colorado House Democrats to reverse that in 2022. 

Tuesday night, Caraveo claimed her ad was only talking about her votes in Congress, not the state House. 

Both candidates agreed that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election. When asked if he would accept the 2024 election results if Vice President Kamala Harris wins, Evans said yes.

“We have to make sure that every legal vote is counted,” Evans said. “But yeah, I accept the result of elections.” 

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