Rutinel defeats Bird in Democratic primary for battleground Colorado House seat

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State Rep. Manny Rutinel (D) is projected to defeat former state Rep. Shannon Bird (D) in the Democratic primary to take on Rep. Gabe Evans (R-Colo.), according to Decision Desk HQ.

Evans, who represents Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, is considered one of the most vulnerable Republicans up for reelection this year.

Rutinel, an attorney and former economist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, beat Bird, who served in the Colorado House from 2019 to 2026, in the Democratic contest. The House seat extends from just north of Denver into Greeley.

Though the two candidates were largely aligned on most issues, immigration became a focal point in the primary where about 40 percent of the district is Latino.

Rutinel attacked Bird for a committee vote she took in 2025 against legislation that restricts localities from sharing personal identifying information with federal immigration enforcement officials. That legislation also restricts federal immigration officials’ access to places like childcare centers or schools.

Bird told The Denver Post earlier this year that she voted against it because she wanted to see improvements to the bill. However, she told the newspaper that she regretted being absent when the entire House voted on it, an absence she noted was related to a family medical emergency.

Meanwhile, Bird has attacked Rutinel for voting in favor of this year’s state budget, which includes cuts to Medicaid to address that state’s $1.5 billion shortfall. Rutinel has argued he made efforts to blunt the blow of cuts to Medicaid.

The House seat covering Denver’s northern suburbs is a relatively new one after Colorado gained an additional district in the 2020 Census. It has been represented by both parties and is seen as one of House Democrats’ best pickup opportunities in the fall.

The nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report rates Evans’s seat as a “toss up.”

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Former state Rep. Shannon Bird

Rep. Gabe Evans

State Rep. Manny Rutinel

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