October 20th 2024.
At a recent rally in Aurora, Donald Trump took the stage to address a packed ballroom. Among the first speakers was state representative Gabe Evans, who delivered a standard speech that focused on crime statistics in Colorado. He highlighted issues such as high cocaine use, auto thefts, and fentanyl deaths, and attributed them to the Democratic leadership. Evans also shared his personal story as a former Army pilot and police officer in Arvada. He mentioned his close race against Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo in the 8th Congressional District, a battleground area that was recently tied in a poll just a month before the election.
Compared to other candidates who spoke at the rally, Evans' speech was noticeably free of the hyper-partisan rhetoric that is often associated with Trump events. He did not touch upon hot-button issues such as immigration, and only mentioned the former president and current GOP nominee once. He stated that his victory would ensure Trump enters the White House with a Republican majority in Congress.
This speech was a reflection of the campaign Evans has been running to unseat Caraveo in Colorado's newest congressional district, a highly-watched race in the country. With more unaffiliated voters than registered Democrats and Republicans combined, the candidates have been trying to appeal to moderates and portray their opponent as too extreme.
For Evans, a first-term lawmaker with a focus on criminal justice bills and optimistic filibuster speeches, this has meant taking a more moderate stance. He has walked back his previous anti-abortion views and now opposes a national ban in the post-Roe v. Wade era. He has also distanced himself from Trump's extreme rhetoric on immigration.
Evans has faced criticism for avoiding direct answers to some debate questions, such as his stance on corporal punishment for children, while highlighting his bipartisan success in a state House controlled by Democrats. In a party dominated by election conspiracists, Evans has also been careful with his responses on election integrity.
When asked in a recent radio interview if he identifies as an "establishment" or "grassroots" Republican, Evans described himself as a "Gabe Evans Republican." He stated that he is willing to work with anyone who is focused on finding common-sense solutions to improve people's lives.
During a tour of a Commerce City engineering firm, Evans, who also owns a farm in southern Weld County, told The Denver Post that he believes in moderation and maintaining some distance from Trump. In 2022, when other federal races in Colorado were won comfortably by Democrats, Caraveo only beat her Republican opponent by a slim margin of 1,632 votes.
According to Robert Preuhs, a political science professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver, Evans is trying to run a centered campaign rather than a purely partisan one. He believes that Evans needs to continue distancing himself from extreme issues to appeal to moderate voters.
Evans' path to the statehouse was shaped by his military and law enforcement career, which he has made a key part of his campaign. He was raised in Aurora and is a second-generation American. He was homeschooled and attended Patrick Henry College, a small conservative Christian school in Virginia, where he majored in strategic intelligence. His military service runs in the family, with his grandfather being a World War II veteran.
After being commissioned as a lieutenant in the Virginia Army National Guard, Evans learned to fly Black Hawk helicopters and was deployed to the Middle East as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. He also joined the Arvada Police Department in 2011. In 2019, he resigned from his job in law enforcement to run for the state House.
Evans' decision to run for office was not influenced by a Republican official or activist, according to former lawmaker Colin Larson, who helped lead House Republicans' campaign efforts in 2022. Larson described Evans as levelheaded and someone who understood the politics at play in the Capitol.
During his two years in the state House, Evans has not aligned himself with the most conservative wing of the small Republican caucus. He has not supported some of his more right-wing colleagues' anti-abortion measures, and almost 62% of the bills he has sponsored have passed in a legislature controlled by Democrats.
However, Democrats have spent millions of dollars on TV ads attacking Evans' record, at times misrepresenting his current positions. They have brought up his earlier stance on abortion, where he opposed it in all cases except when the life of the mother was at risk. Evans now supports exceptions for cases of rape and incest, and he has stated that he will not support a national abortion ban in Congress. He believes that the issue should be left to the states, a position that has become more mainstream among Republicans.
Democrats have also criticized Evans for a letter to the editor he wrote as a teenager, where he expressed his opposition to same-sex marriage and likened it to incest. Evans has stated that his views have evolved, and he plans to vote for this year's Amendment J, which aims to remove anti-same-sex marriage language from the state constitution.
Earlier this year, Evans caught attention when he answered "no-ish" to a question about whether the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. At a recent debate, he stated that President Joe Biden won the election, but also mentioned interference related to the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story.
At a recent rally held by former President Donald Trump in Aurora, Colorado, the stage was graced by a number of speakers, including state representative Gabe Evans. As one of the first to take the stage, Evans delivered a typical speech, highlighting various crime statistics in Colorado such as high rates of cocaine use, auto thefts, and fentanyl-related deaths. He then proceeded to place the blame on the Democrats in charge. Evans also shared his personal story, emphasizing his experience as an Army helicopter pilot and an Arvada police officer. He also mentioned his close race against Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo in the 8th Congressional District, which was recently declared a battleground district.
Compared to the other congressional candidates who spoke at the rally, Evans' speech was noticeably free of the hyper-partisan rhetoric often heard at Trump events. Surprisingly, he didn't even touch on the hot-button issue of immigration. The only time he mentioned Trump was when he promised the crowd that his victory would ensure the former president enters the White House with a Republican majority in Congress in January.
This speech was a reflection of Evans' overall campaign strategy in his bid to unseat Caraveo in Colorado's newest congressional district, a race that has garnered national attention. With a district that has more unaffiliated voters than registered Democrats and Republicans combined, the focus has been on which candidate can appeal to moderate voters and paint their opponent as too extreme and partisan.
For Evans, a freshman state lawmaker whose two years at the Colorado Capitol have been marked by criminal justice reform bills and upbeat filibuster speeches, this has meant navigating through shades of gray. Previously, he had taken strong anti-abortion stances, but he now opposes a national ban on abortion in the post-Roe v. Wade era. He has also denounced the current immigration system while distancing himself from Trump's extreme rhetoric.
Evans has faced criticism for avoiding direct answers to some debate questions, including one about corporal punishment for children. He has also touted his success in working across party lines in a state House controlled by Democrats. In a party that has been dominated by election conspiracies, Evans has been careful in his responses to questions about election integrity, often hedging his answers.
In a recent radio interview, when asked if he identifies as an "establishment" or "grassroots" Republican, Evans described himself simply as a "Gabe Evans Republican." He went on to explain that he is willing to work with anyone who is genuinely interested in finding common-sense solutions to improve the lives of Americans, making them safer and more affordable. This sentiment was echoed during our interview with him at a conference room in a Commerce City engineering firm, which he was touring.
The need for moderation and distance from Trump is not unfounded. In the 2020 election, while Democrats won several other federal races in Colorado by comfortable margins, Caraveo barely beat her Republican opponent by just 1,632 votes, a margin of less than one percentage point. According to Robert Preuhs, a political science professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver, Evans is trying to run a centered campaign rather than a purely partisan one. He believes that Evans needs to continue to distance himself from extreme positions to appeal to moderate voters.
Evans, a 38-year-old married father of two, has made his military and law enforcement career a central part of his campaign. This career is deeply rooted in his upbringing. Born and raised in Aurora, Colorado, Evans was homeschooled through high school. In middle school, he was in an electives class with Kristi Burton Brown, who would later become the leader of the Colorado Republican Party when Evans first ran for office in 2020. They were both involved in the same church and their families were close. According to Brown, they both shared a passion for American history and politics, and Evans was always proactive in addressing issues and finding solutions.
After graduating from Patrick Henry College, a small conservative Christian school in Virginia, Evans joined the Army. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Virginia Army National Guard before moving back to Colorado to serve in the state's National Guard and join the Arvada Police Department. He was deployed to the Middle East as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2012 and 2013, where his unit was involved in counterterrorism and stability operations in several countries. He left the military in 2019 as a captain and continued to work in law enforcement until he resigned in 2020 to run for the state House.
In a 2020 article published about his candidacy, Evans expressed his frustration with the "woke-leaning" legislature that he believed restricted his ability to serve and protect the community. According to him, he felt powerless and this was one of the reasons he decided to enter politics.
Evans entered his first race without any encouragement from Republican officials. Colin Larson, a former lawmaker from Littleton who helped lead House Republicans' campaign efforts, set up a meeting with Evans to get a sense of his political views. Larson was impressed by Evans' understanding of the "small-p politics" at the Capitol and his levelheadedness. He felt that Evans would make a great team player in the caucus.
During his two years at the Capitol, Evans has not aligned himself with the most conservative wing of the small House Republican caucus. He has not supported some of the more right-wing colleagues' anti-abortion measures. In fact, nearly 62% of the bills he has sponsored have passed in a legislature controlled by Democrats, a fact that Evans uses to demonstrate his moderate and bipartisan approach.
However, Democrats have tried to undermine Evans' moderate image through TV ads funded by outside groups, which have at times misrepresented his current views. They have criticized his previous stance on abortion, where he opposed it in all cases except when the life of the mother was at risk. Evans has since clarified that he now supports exceptions for cases of rape and incest and that he will not support a national ban on abortion in Congress. He believes that abortion debates should be left to the states, a position that is increasingly becoming mainstream among Republicans.
Democrats have also attacked Evans for a letter to the editor he wrote as a teenager, where he expressed opposition to same-sex marriage and compared it to incest. Evans has stated that his views have evolved, and he plans to vote in favor of Amendment J, which would remove anti-same-sex marriage language from the state constitution.
Evans made headlines earlier this year when he was asked if the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, to which he responded, "No-ish." At a recent debate, he clarified that he believes President Joe Biden won but acknowledged that there were issues with the Hunter Biden laptop story.
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