Former Colorado Rep. Yadira Caraveo ends bid to regain battleground seat
Democrat says ‘stigmatization of mental health’ was main factor in her decision
Democratic former Rep. Yadira Caraveo on Friday dropped her comeback bid in a battleground district in Colorado, citing a bias against mental illness as the reason.
“This was not a decision I made lightly,” Caraveo, who served a single term representing the 8th District, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, I faced very strong resistance to my candidacy this cycle due almost entirely to the stigmatization of mental health in America.”
Caraveo, a physician and former state legislator, has struggled with her mental health. Former congressional aides told The Colorado Sun that she twice appeared to attempt suicide in situations witnessed by staffers.
The 8th District is the state’s most competitive, with a sizable population of Latino voters. Created after the 2020 census, the district reaches from the northern fringe of the Denver metro area to Fort Lupton and Greeley.
Caraveo narrowly won the seat in 2022, defeating Republican state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer. With her election, the daughter of Mexican immigrants became the first Latina to represent Colorado in Congress. She previously also served two terms in the Colorado House.
But last fall, Caraveo lost reelection to Republican Gabe Evans by fewer than 2,500 votes. The race was among a handful of flips that helped House Republicans maintain their razor-thin majority in the chamber.
Evans is among the 35 House Republicans on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s initial target list for 2026. He was also the highest-ranked Republican on CQ Roll Call’s most recent list of the most vulnerable House lawmakers.
Caraveo leaves what has turned into a crowded Democratic primary in the 8th District. Candidates seeking to unseat Evans include state Reps. Manny Rutinel and Shannon Bird, state Treasurer Dave Young, Marine veteran Evan Munsing and Amie Baca-Oehlert, who led the state’s largest teachers union. Both Rutinel and Bird outraised Caraveo during the second fundraising quarter that ended June 30.
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the race for the 8th District a Toss-up.
