Democrats, progressive groups and constituents in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District are keeping up the pressure on Republican U.S. Rep Gabe Evans of Fort Lupton as the GOP’s narrow House majority closes in on drastic federal budget cuts that could have a big impact in the battleground district.
More than 100 people gathered Thursday in a high school auditorium in Thornton for the latest in a series of “People’s Town Halls” organized by the Democratic National Committee across the country, in districts where Republican members of Congress have declined to hold in-person town halls themselves. In place of Evans, attendees asked questions of Rep. Greg Casar, a Democrat in his second term representing Texas’ 35th District.
“My title actually isn’t congressman. The title is representative,” Casar told the crowd. “And the person that is supposed to be representing you here in Colorado is not acting like a representative. He’s acting like an employee of the Trump-Musk organization, and he’s not going to show up and answer your questions.”
Casar and Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib shared the stage with a cardboard cutout of Evans — complete with chicken legs for a lawmaker who Rebecca Miller, a hospice nurse criticizing Evans’ support for Medicaid cuts, said was too “chicken” to hold a proper town hall.
“I’m sure you recognize my voice, since I call you at least once a week,” Miller told the cutout. “Hey Gabe, did you know that 25% of your constituents … are on Medicaid? That’s 73,000 people that you’re getting ready to kick off their health care.”
Evans and his fellow Republicans in Congress are pursuing a major rewrite of the federal budget, and have approved an initial plan calling for trillions of dollars in tax cuts paired with trillions more in cuts to spending programs, including $880 billion in cuts to be made by the committee that oversees Medicaid. That legislative effort has coincided with an unprecedented executive power grab by President Donald Trump’s administration, which has attempted to shut down congressionally-authorized agencies and departments, freeze spending programs, order mass layoffs of federal workers, and take other actions that run contrary to longstanding separation-of-powers principles in the U.S. Constitution.
After multiple House Republicans faced backlash from constituents over the GOP agenda during town halls earlier this year, party leaders advised their members to stop holding in-person events, Politico reported.
Evans, serving his first two-year term after defeating former Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo by about 2,500 votes in the 2024 election, appears to have listened. To date, he has held just a single telephone town hall, answering a select handful of questions on a call that many constituents reported was plagued by technical issues.
“They were told by House Speaker Mike Johnson not to have town halls, so they’re just doing what they’re told,” Casar said.
Though he represents one of the country’s most evenly divided congressional districts, Evans — a former Arvada police officer and Army veteran who served one term in the state Legislature before running for Congress — has done little to distance himself from Trump and his agenda. He has endorsed Trump’s plans to carry out the mass deportations of more than 12 million immigrants in the country without authorization and backed the president’s chaotic efforts to launch a global trade war.
In a statement, Delanie Bomar, an Evans spokesperson, called Casar a far-left activist “who wants to see socialism and transgenderism take over America.”
“He represents the total opposite of Congressman Gabe Evans’ commonsense and winning plan of improving public safety, the immigration system, and the economy,” Bomar said. “Any day with Greg Casar in Colorado’s 8th District is a day that helps re-elect Gabe Evans in 2026.”
With Evans absent, critics of the Republican agenda have sought to fill the vacuum with events of their own, including a March 22 event in Northglenn organized by local groups. Last month, more than 10,000 people turned out for a rally in Greeley to hear from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who taunted Evans from the stage for refusing to meet with his constituents.
Thursday’s town hall was jointly organized by the DNC and the Colorado Democratic Party. Two other events are planned for this weekend: a Medicaid-focused event organized by labor groups, scheduled for Friday evening at the Thornton Community Center; and a town hall at 10 a.m. on Saturday at the Moxie Theater in Greeley.
The 8th District is Colorado’s most diverse — about 40% of its residents are Latino — and most competitive House seat. Drawn by an independent redistricting commission after the 2020 census awarded Colorado an additional congressional seat, it extends from Denver’s northern suburbs to Greeley and more rural areas in southern Weld County.
With Republicans holding just a three-vote majority in the House, the 8th District race could again prove crucial in determining control of Congress in the 2026 midterms. Caraveo earlier this month announced she would seek to win her old seat back next year, but first she faces a primary contest against Democratic state Rep. Manny Rutinel of Commerce City.
Murib said that despite Democrats’ relatively strong performance in Colorado in 2024, the loss of the 8th District race was a disappointment the party is eager to make up for next year.
“We are not going to let Gabe Evans continue to be employee of the month for Donald Trump,” Murib said. “We are not going to continue to let this cardboard cutout stay away from the people.”
Polls show that cuts to Medicaid, which provides health care to more than 1 in 5 Americans, are deeply unpopular, with 82% of Americans believing that funding for the program should be increased or kept the same, according to a March KFF survey.
Evans has defended House Republicans’ budget resolution, which mandates the $880 billion in cuts from the committee that oversees Medicaid spending, by falsely claiming that there are “a wide range of places where those cost savings can be found.” The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that Medicaid comprises 93% of the spending that could be cut by the committee. As a result, the GOP’s budget requires a minimum of $700 billion in Medicaid cuts over 10 years — or a 10% reduction in projected spending.
Evans sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which will be responsible for implementing the Medicaid cuts required by the budget plan. Casar noted that with Republicans holding only a razor-thin majority, it would only require a handful of GOP House members to “replace the chicken legs with normal legs” to derail the budget plan.
“Your organizing from here over the course of the next few weeks could save Medicaid as we know it,” Casar said. “That’s why I got on a plane all the way over here to do this. … I know we can and will do it.”
Colorado Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com.