GOP challenger Evans makes false claims on climate, energy in 8th District debate with Caraveo
Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo of Thornton, left, faces a challenge from Republican state Rep. Gabe Evans of Fort Lupton in Colorado's tossup 8th Congressional District race. (Chase Woodruff/Colorado Newsline)
The candidates for Colorado's 8th Congressional District met again on Friday for a debate that featured a series of false and misleading claims about climate and energy issues from Republican state Rep. Gabe Evans.
Evans is challenging incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo of Thornton for the toss-up 8th District seat, which could prove pivotal in the battle for control of Congress. The event, hosted by CBS4, was the second and final televised debate in the race and came days after Coloradans began receiving their ballots in the mail.
Drawn by a nonpartisan commission during the state's 2021 redistricting process, the 8th District includes parts of Denver's Democratic-leaning northern suburbs in Adams County, as well as more conservative areas in southern Weld County. Caraveo, a pediatrician and former state lawmaker, was narrowly elected in 2022 to become the district's first-ever representative.
Conservatives have been critical of Caraveo's co-sponsorship of Senate Bill 19-181 , which strengthened health and safety regulations on the oil and gas industry, while serving in the state Legislature in 2019. Evans, an Army veteran and former police officer from Fort Lupton, falsely claimed during Friday's debate that SB-181 enacted regulations that had recently been rejected by voters at the ballot box.
"In 2018, the voters of Colorado spoke on this — there was a ballot proposition that said, 'Do we mess with how oil and gas is produced, or leave it alone?' Fifty-seven percent of Colorado voted (to) leave it alone," Evans said. "Less than four months later, my opponent passed that same thing anyway. She didn't listen to the will of the people then. She's continuing voting that way in Congress."
Evans was referring to Proposition 112 , a ballot initiative backed by progressive anti-fracking groups that would have made a single regulatory change, enacting a strict 2,500-foot setback between new oil and gas drilling sites and occupied buildings. No such setback requirement was included in SB-181, which was a less rigid and more broadly supported package of reforms that strengthened permitting rules and increased local governments' authority to regulate drilling within their borders.
Caraveo objected to Evans' characterization of SB-181 by saying it was meant to "balance the needs of local municipalities so that they can make their own decisions about whether to continue fostering oil and gas production and how to balance that with the health and safety of their communities."
More than 90% of Colorado's oil production takes place in Weld County, with many industry employers concentrated in communities within the 8th District. But in spite of years of complaints from fossil fuel industry groups and their Republican allies, Colorado drillers continue to produce at near-record levels , Caraveo noted.
"The oil and gas industry in the 8th District continues to thrive," Caraveo said. "We can do both. We can talk about the need for safety and focus on the health of our kids, like the ones that I saw having asthma attacks in clinics, and continue to foster the oil and gas production here in the 8th District, here in Colorado and across the country — while also focusing on renewable energy."
Pivoting to energy issues
Recent polls have shown a statistical tie in the 8th District race, one of only a few dozen competitive congressional elections across the country that will determine which party controls the House of Representatives next year.
No matter what topic was raised throughout Friday's 30-minute debate, Evans — whose campaign website blames "climate alarmism" and "draconian Leftist climate regulations" for increases in the cost of living — repeatedly sought to redirect attention to climate and energy issues.
When asked about food safety and the Food and Drug Administration's handling of a major listeria outbreak , he attacked "Green New Deal style mandates" on agricultural producers. In response to a question about expanding or limiting Medicaid eligibility, he pivoted instead to Medicare and accused Caraveo of having "voted to take $180 million out of Medicare and use it to pay for EV tax credits."
A spokesperson did not immediately respond to a question about what Evans was referring to, but his comment resembles a misleading conservative talking point in opposition to the Inflation Reduction Act. That law included both EV tax credits, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates will cost $180 billion over the next 10 years, and a provision allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices , which the CBO projected will reduce federal spending by over $300 billion over the same period. But the latter figure represents cost savings from lower drug prices, not budget cuts or funds "take(n) ... out of" the Medicare program.
The IRA was passed in August 2022 — six months before Caraveo was sworn into Congress.
"I really don't know what he's talking about," Caraveo said.
