Once again, next November’s face-off over Colorado’s newest congressional district promises to be a close call. And once again, control of the entire U.S. House of Representatives hangs in the balance.

Created after the 2020 Census, the 8th Congressional District appeared on the ballot for the first time in 2022. It was a close call. The current Democratic incumbent won the general election that year by less than one percentage point over the Republican nominee.

As the district’s Republicans rally anew to win a seat that pundits say is very much up for grabs, an exemplary member of their party has stepped forward to take up the challenge. It’s state Rep. Gabe Evans, of Fort Lupton, whose resumé and back story are a perfect fit for the district – and make him ideally qualified to address the top issues in Congress.

Stay up to speed: Sign up for daily opinion in your inbox Monday-Friday

The Gazette editorial board enthusiastically endorses Gabe Evans – who has served as a soldier, a law officer and most recently a lawmaker – for the June 25 GOP primary election to represent Colorado’s 8th Congressional District.

The 8th is the state’s most competitive congressional district and one of the most competitive in the country. It stretches north from metro Denver along I-25 and encompasses parts of Adams, Larimer and Weld counties. Its population centers include Greeley in the heart of Weld County as well as north-suburban Northglenn and Thornton.

As a candidate on that political terrain, Evans seems almost larger than life.

The Colorado native and grandson of Mexican immigrants served 12 years in the U.S. Army and Colorado Army National Guard as a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter pilot and company commander. His service included a combat deployment to the Middle East – as well as responding to wildfires and participating in search-and-rescue operations across Colorado.

Evans also spent over 10 years as an Arvada police officer. That’s where he experienced firsthand the hard truths resulting from soft-on-crime policies imposed in recent years by Colorado’s Democratic Party-controlled Legislature.

Evans and his wife now operate a family farm in Weld County, where they live with their two young sons.

Evans ran for his current Colorado state House District 48 seat in 2022 and won nearly two thirds of the vote against a Democratic and Libertarian candidate.

His stands on the issues should resonate with most CD-8 voters. He’s a classic fiscal conservative who wants to rein in deficit spending. He seeks to put doctors and patients back in charge of health care – taking “bureaucrats out of the doctor-patient relationship” and providing price transparency and health-plan portability to patients.

Drawing on his time in an Army uniform, he stands for a military “focused on war-fighting and not politically correct agendas.” And as a longtime law officer, he supports policies to make the streets safe again.

“It’s not complicated,” he states on his campaign website. “When you hold criminals accountable, you get less crime. When you punish cops and let criminals off with no consequences, you get more crime.” You can’t quibble with that logic.

Evans also is a passionate advocate of educational choice and school safety for our kids.

His prospects for winning CD-8 appeared even brighter after last week’s GOP district assembly, at which the overwhelming majority of delegates gave him the top line on the June 25 Republican primary ballot.

Republicans hold the U.S. House by only a slim margin. Maintaining their majority hinges significantly on gaining Colorado’s CD-8.

Evans is their best hope for taking on the district’s incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo. What’s more, he has the right stuff to represent this pivotal slice of Colorado in Washington.

Denver Gazette Editorial Board