November 8th 2024.
The race for Congress between U.S. Representative Yadira Caraveo and Republican state Representative Gabe Evans took an unexpected turn on Friday evening. The lead, which had been in Caraveo's favor, shifted to Evans for the first time according to the latest results. This news was met with anticipation and excitement as both candidates vied for the coveted seat in Congress.
However, the race is far from over as there are still thousands of ballots yet to be counted in Adams County. Caraveo has been leading in this county by a significant margin of nearly 12 percentage points. As of 6:19 p.m., Evans had a lead of 2,529 votes over Caraveo, giving him a 49% to 48.2% edge with 311,026 ballots tallied.
Adams County Clerk Josh Zygielbaum shared that there were still over 20,000 ballots to be processed, but the inclement weather had halted the counting process. He assured that the counting would resume on Saturday and continue throughout the weekend to ensure every vote is counted.
Meanwhile, Weld County has also made a significant impact on the race as thousands of completed ballots were added to the overall tally on Friday. This has given Evans a significant boost, as he currently leads Caraveo by nearly 20 points in this red-leaning county.
Both campaigns have expressed confidence in their candidate's chances of winning. Caraveo's campaign manager, Mary Alice Blackstock, stated that they are optimistic about her chances of being re-elected and serving a second term. However, she also acknowledged that determining a winner may take a few more days given the number of outstanding ballots.
Similarly, Evans' campaign spokesman Alan Philp is also confident in their chances, stating that with the late ballots trending towards Evans and tens of thousands of uncounted ballots remaining in the district, they are confident in his victory.
The race for Colorado's ultra-competitive 8th Congressional District is crucial as it could help determine control of next year's Congress. This has been a closely contested and intense race, with both candidates receiving significant financial support and airing pointed campaign ads for weeks.
The district, which covers Denver's northern suburbs and rural areas of Adams and Weld counties, is the most heavily Latino congressional district in Colorado. This fact has played a significant role in Caraveo's victory in the previous election against Republican opponent Barb Kirkmeyer. However, this year, Evans, who is also of Latino descent, provided a tough competition, making it a more complicated race.
An exit poll of Latino voters this week showed that Caraveo lost a substantial amount of support from this demographic compared to the previous election. While she received about 75% of the Latino vote in 2022, this year, it dropped to around 56%. According to pollster Gabe Sanchez, this can be attributed to both parties fielding Latino candidates, splitting the Latino vote between them.
The 8th Congressional District has been listed as one of the closest House contests in 2024 by political prognosticators, making this race even more crucial. As the counting of the remaining ballots continues, both candidates and their supporters eagerly await the final results. Stay updated with Colorado Politics by signing up for their weekly newsletter, The Spot.
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