In March, both legislators were put “on notice” by Emily’s List<\/a> as “top targets for defeat in the 2026 midterm elections.” The political advocacy group supports Democratic women candidates who favor abortion rights in their bids for office across the country.<\/p>\n The hazards for Evans, a freshman representative from Fort Lupton, are greater than for Hurd because his 8th Congressional District was created four years ago to be Colorado’s most politically competitive<\/a> — a promise it’s lived up to in two election cycles.<\/p>\n “Hurd has a bit more wiggle room than Evans does,” said Colorado State University political science professor Kyle Saunders, who has been closely watching both districts.<\/p>\n Evans, who narrowly beat incumbent Rep. Yadira Caraveo<\/a> in the November election, was the only Republican House member in Colorado to make this month’s Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s<\/a> list of “districts in play.” That means his eventual Democratic opponent will be getting a targeted splash of national money in next year’s election.<\/p>\n “There is a long way to go yet,” Saunders said, “but Evans will have to be very careful with how he plays his cards over the next year-plus — both in how closely he stands with Trump as well as with any votes that can be used against him in the 2026 campaign.”<\/p>\n While both congressmen have largely toed Trump’s line at the start of the Republican’s second administration, there are signs they are willing to push back — albeit cautiously.<\/p>\n In early March, they were among 21 Republicans who signed a letter to Rep. Jason Smith<\/a>, the GOP chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. They urged their party to keep clean energy tax credits from the Democrats\u2019 Inflation Reduction Act climate law that fund development of “traditional and renewable energy sources alike.”<\/p>\n The appeal came in the face of efforts by Trump to\u00a0make it easier<\/a> for companies to produce oil and gas and to empower public officials to halt already approved clean-energy projects.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Hurd this month took a public swipe at the president by introducing a bipartisan bill<\/a> that would require that unilateral tariffs proposed by the executive branch undergo congressional review, and be limited in duration.<\/p>\n “I think it’s pretty clear under Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution that Congress has authority with respect to tariffs,” Hurd, a Grand Junction attorney, told The Denver Post in an interview. “I thought it was an important thing for me to be part of the legislation that would reassert Congress’ authority.”<\/p>\n Former Colorado Republican Party chair Dick Wadhams said both Hurd and Evans “have done really well” in their first 100 days pledging fealty to Trump’s agenda. They’ve done so without attaching themselves too closely to some of its harder edges, he said — like supporting false claims of a stolen 2020 election.<\/p>\n “Gabe is first and foremost a congressman for the 8th District,” Wadhams said. “And I think Jeff Hurd is in the tradition of what 3rd District voters are looking for. They’ve set themselves up as strong incumbents.”<\/p>\n But the 2026 election is still more than 18 months away. A lot can happen between now and then, Saunders said.<\/p>\n Trump’s polling numbers have fallen since he took office on Jan. 20, according to a CBS News-YouGov survey<\/a> taken a week ago. His approval rating has flipped from 53% in favor of his overall performance in February to 53% disapproval now.<\/p>\n Similar declines were recorded in the poll on Trump’s handling of the economy.<\/p>\n “What we can say is that President Trump\u2019s honeymoon is very likely over,” Saunders said. “Does that mean that his favorability will decline further from here? What we do know is that economic uncertainty, rising prices and other fundamentals do not usually help the sitting president — we saw that as recently as President Biden\u2019s struggles with inflation in 2023 and 2024.”<\/p>\n The danger of an unpopular president is that unaffiliated voters may break towards Democrats next year, Saunders said. In Evans’ case, his prospects are complicated by the fact that the 8th District, which covers portions of Weld, Adams and Larimer counties, has an 8,000-voter registration advantage for Democrats, he said.<\/p>\n “In a district where Evans only won by approximately 2,400 votes, those factors alone could easily turn the tide the other way,” Saunders said.<\/p>\n Hal Bidlack, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who unsuccessfully ran in Colorado’s 5th Congressional District<\/a> nearly 20 years ago, advises the Democrats running in the 3rd and 8th districts in 2026 to burden their opponents with Trump — and the task of trying to explain Trump. He also taught political science at the Air Force Academy for nearly 20 years.<\/p>\n “I would have the attitude of tying them to Trump as tightly as I can,” the Democrat said. “I would make them defend Trump and Trumpism completely.”<\/p>\n Hurd, who beat Democratic challenger Adam Frisch<\/a> by 5 percentage points last year, hasn’t drawn a Democratic challenger yet. But Evans has two of note already.<\/p>\n Caraveo, who on Tuesday announced a bid to retake the seat she lost nearly six months ago<\/a>, told The Post that Evans is “falling in line completely with Donald Trump and Elon Musk.”<\/p>\n “He’s not really taking into account that this is a very middle-of-the-road district that doesn’t fit into the right MAGA extremism that he’s voting for, and I haven’t seen him veer at all from the path that Donald Trump wants him to be on,” she said in an interview.<\/p>\n Her Democratic primary opponent, state Rep. Manny Rutinel, voiced a similar criticism of Evans. He announced his candidacy<\/a> less than a month after Evans took office Jan. 3.<\/p>\n “Even though Congressman Evans was elected to represent the people of CD-8, his only focus has been representing the interests of the ultrawealthy and defending President Trump’s disastrous policies against working people,” Rutinel wrote in an email to The Post.<\/p>\n Evans, a U.S. Army veteran and former Arvada cop, dismisses the criticism.<\/p>\n “I’ve done over 40 in-person meetings, roundtables, town halls — things of that nature,” he said. “My staff has done over 300 other meetings, and so we’re 100% committed to being out, active and engaged in the district.”<\/p>\n While Evans strongly backs the administration’s efforts to secure the border and deport\u00a0criminals and gang members who are in the country illegally, he often tells the story of his grandfather, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico “the right way.”<\/p>\n The 8th District is Colorado’s most heavily Latino district.<\/p>\n “We have to recognize their key contributions,” he said of immigrants, “and we have to make sure that we are moving the ball forward to get some sort of meaningful immigration reform — so that the people who are trying to do it the right way and are bringing so many positive contributions to our communities don’t get left behind.”<\/p>\n In the meantime, the political winds have already started blowing ahead of 2026.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, met with about 30 northern Colorado manufacturers in Loveland<\/a> — right on the doorstep of Evans’ district. The discussion focused on the “devastating impacts of Trump\u2019s tariff taxes on the industry and economy,” according to a news release from the governor’s office.<\/p>\n![\"U.S.](\"http:\/\/www.soapandseife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TDP-Z-GettyImages-2194677446.jpg\")
“Tying them to Trump”<\/h4>\n
![\"U.S.](\"http:\/\/www.soapandseife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/TDP-Z-GettyImages-2202705771.jpg\")
Tariffs and farming<\/h4>\n