Colorado Rep. Shannon Bird joins Democratic primary to challenge U.S. Rep. Evans

Colorado state Rep. Shannon Bird, a Westminster Democrat, is joining the race to represent Colorado’s competitive 8th Congressional District.

Bird is the third Democrat to announce a bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, a Fort Lupton Republican who was elected in November 2024. 

“Colorado families are being squeezed by rising costs and broken promises from politicians like Donald Trump and Gabe Evans,” Bird said in a statement announcing her run. “While Trump and Evans push an agenda that’s making lives harder, I’ve dedicated my career to fighting for hardworking Coloradans. From city council to the state capitol, I’m battle-tested with a record of showing up, listening, and delivering real results. That’s what the people of Colorado deserve, and that’s what I’ll do for them in Congress.”

The district is Colorado’s newest and most competitive, drawn by an independent redistricting commission after Colorado was awarded an additional congressional seat following the 2020 census. The district encompasses parts of Denver’s northern suburbs as well as more rural areas in southern Weld County.

Evans unseated former Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo, who was the first person to represent the district. She announced she would seek reelection in April, and Colorado state Rep. Manny Rutinel, a Commerce City Democrat, announced a bid for the seat as well. 

Bird serves on the Colorado Legislature’s powerful Joint Budget Committee, which drafts the annual state budget. She was first elected to the Legislature in 2018 after a stint on the Westminster City Council. 

With Republicans holding a slim majority in the House, the 8th District race could again prove crucial in determining control of Congress in the 2026 midterms. The National Republican Congressional Committee said the Democratic primary in the district is “a sprint to the left” and called Bird “the latest far-left liberal trying to out-extreme her opponents.” 

“Whether it’s Bird, Caraveo, or Rutinel crawling out of the wreckage, voters in Colorado will reject them just like they reject the Democrats’ extreme and out of touch agenda,” NRCC spokesperson Zach Bannon said in a statement. 

Since he was elected, Evans, who also served in the Colorado Legislature, has affirmed his support for Trump’s plans to carry out mass deportations of tens of millions of undocumented immigrants, and remained silent on the administration’s effort to end birthright citizenship. Last month, Evans voted for House Republicans’ sweeping budget resolution to cut taxes and slash social spending, and he has since falsely claimed that the plan would not force drastic cuts to Medicaid, as nonpartisan congressional budget analysts conclude that it would.