CANDIDATE PROFILES: 8th Congressional District

Colorado’s 8th Congressional District is widely considered by political watchers around the country as one of, if not the, top battleground districts in the nation; the outcome of the CD 8 election in November could very well determine which party controls the House of Representatives for the remainder of President Trump’s second term.

The seat is currently held by Republican Congressman Gabe Evans, who is not facing a primary. On the Democratic side, two candidates are vying for the nomination in the June 30th primary,  former State Representative Shannon Bird and current State Representative Manny Rutinel.

As all other primary elections, per Colorado law, registered Democratic and Republic voters will receive a primary ballot for their respective parties. Voters registered as Unaffiliated will receive both primary ballots, but may only fill out and return one or the other.

Here is a look at the two Democratic contenders:

Shannon Bird

Shannon Bird is an attorney who grew up in Reno, NV, and moved to Colorado to attend college at CU Boulder, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in economics. She received a master’s degree in finance and an MBA from CU Denver, and her JD from the University of Denver. She served on the Westminster City Council from 2015-2019 and was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives from 2019 until 2026. There, she served on the House Finance Committee, and from 2023 session on Joint Budget Committee. Bird, who had a reputation as a generally pro-business Democrat, resigned from the state legislature in January 2026 to focus on her Congressional race. She lives in Westminster with her husband and two children.

According to her campaign website, Bird’s top priorities if elected include lowering costs, holding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) accountable, and protecting abortion rights. In terms of lowering costs, Bird says she would push to eliminate tariffs, enact a middle class tax cut, and reduce red tape for energy projects, while also increasing federal spending on Medicaid, Medicare, food stamps, childcare and various low-income assistance programs. Concerning ICE, she says the agency is “acting as a lawless agency that is terrorizing our communities” and advocates for passage of The Stop Excessive Force in Immigration Act, which would impose severe restrictions on federal immigration enforcement officers. She also says she would restore federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

Bird qualified for the Democratic primary by petition in February. Among her extensive list of endorsements are several unions, the American Academy of Family Physicians PAC and the Blue Dog PAC; former Governor Roy Romer; former Congressman Ed Perlmutter; several former and sitting Democratic legislators; outgoing Adams County Commissioner Steve O’Dorisio; and Commerce City Council Members Charles Dukes, Craig Kim, Joanna Sandoval, Lori Young and Stefanie Trujillo, and former council member René Bullock.

Manny Rutinel

Manny Rutinel is an environmental attorney who was born in the U.S. and lived with his mother in the Dominican Republic until age six. He was raised in Florida where he graduated high school and earned an associate’s degree from Pasco–Hernando State College. He received bachelor’s degrees in economics and microbiology from the University of Florida, after which he worked as an economist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He subsequently received a master’s in applied economics from Johns Hopkins and attended Yale Law School. After receiving his JD, he went on to work as an attorney for Earthjustice, and from 2021 served as CEO of Climate Refarm, a now-defunct organization dedicated to using a carbon credit system to pay food providers and institutions like hospitals and schools to shift to plant-based meals in an effort to reduce emissions.  

He served on the Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) until April 2026, as a member form the general public. Rutinel was selected by the Democratic House District 32 vacancy committee in October 2023 to complete the term of Dafna Michaelson Jenet in the Colorado State House of Representatives, who had in turn been selected to fill a vacant senate seat.  He announced his intention to run for the 8th Congressional District in January 2025 and continues to serve in the Colorado House.

According to his campaign website, Rutinel’s priorities include lowering costs for working families, protecting and strengthening entitlement programs, and stopping what he calls “Trump’s immigration cruelty.” To lower costs, Rutinel says he intends to expand low-income tax credits, “make billionaires pay what they owe in taxes, and close tax loopholes for corporations.” He also proposes raising the federal minimum wage, and expanding the food stamp, or SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance) Program, while also saying that the Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration are driving up costs. He also supports increased spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Despite his log history advocating for environmentalist policies and in particular against the meat industry, his campaign website reveals little of his proposals concerning energy, agriculture, or environmental policies. He does, however, tout his state legislative record, which in addition to stringent environmental bills includes measures sponsored or co-sponsored to prohibit local cooperation with federal law enforcement, crack down on semi-automatic firearms, and expand the Earned income Tax Credit for low-income residents. 

Rutinel qualified for the CD8 Democratic primary ballot by acclamation at the party’s CD8 Assembly. Among his endorsements, Rutinel lists former U.S. Senator and Secretary of the
Interior Ken Salzar; organizations including the American Federation of Teachers, SEIU, and Mom’s Demand Action (a group advocating for stronger gun regulations); and progressive Democrats including State Representatives Jennifer Bacon, Lorena Garcia, Javier Mabry, Emily Sirota, and Yara Zokaie, State Senator Mike Weissman, CU Regent Wanda James, former state Representative Joe Salzar, and Commerce City Council Members Oscar Madera and Craig Kim.