Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana is scheduled to appear at a high-dollar fundraiser for Colorado congressional candidate Gabe Evans on Friday morning in Loveland, according to an invitation obtained by Colorado Politics.

Evans, a first-term state lawmaker from Fort Lupton, is the Republican challenging Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo in the toss-up 8th Congressional District, which stretches from Adams County suburbs north of Denver to Greeley. Caraveo, a former state lawmaker from Thornton, won the newly created seat in the last election by one of the smallest margins of any U.S. House race in the country.

Tickets to the fundraising breakfast with Johnson start at $500 and top out at $10,000, which includes two seats at a roundtable with Johnson prior to the meal. Hosts for the event are former U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner and state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer, who lost the race to Caraveo two years ago.

“I’m honored to have Speaker Johnson come promote our campaign,” Evans told Colorado in an emailed statement. “The stakes are high. Colorado’s 8th Congressional District is considered one of the most competitive in the nation and could decide the balance of power in the U.S. House.”

Caraveo campaign spokeswoman Mary Alice Blackstock blasted Evans in a text message for “bringing more extremists to Colorado who would help him implement his dangerous agenda that would take away women’s reproductive freedom.”

Added Blackstock: “Mike Johnson has been continuously attacking reproductive freedom in Congress and now he’s coming to Colorado’s 8th District looking to strip rights from women across the country. Gabe Evans is his newest ally.”

Evans has some catching up to do, financially speaking, heading into the fall campaign season. Evans reported raising just over $1 million and had nearly $533,000 on hand, while Caraveo’s total fundraising topped $4.5 million, leaving her campaign with nearly $3.5 million left to spend.

Candidate spending in the nationally targeted 8th CD, however, will almost certainly be dwarfed by the Democrats’ and Republicans’ chief House campaign committees, which have already reserved nearly $13 million in fall airtime in Denver’s TV market.

Evans will get another boost this week with a more modestly priced fundraiser Wednesday in Denver featuring Gardner and U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, the North Carolina Republican who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee. Suggested donations for tickets to the evening event range from $250 to $3,300. Hosts listed on an invitation include prominent GOP donors Mary Margaret and Gary Wright, Marcy and Bruce Benson, Pete Coors, Mark Johnson and Joe Smith.

Late last month, the NRCC named Evans to its “Young Guns” program to support top challengers in targeted races.

Evans won endorsements from Johnson and former President Donald Trump ahead of his June primary win over former state Rep. Janak Joshi, who moved into the district from Colorado Springs earlier this year and had the backing of the Colorado Republican Party. Johnson also added Evans to the speaker’s joint fundraising operation in February.

Caraveo had some fundraising help of her own from party leadership this week. House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California attended an event in Denver to support Caraveo late Sunday, following his keynote address at the Jefferson County Democratic Party’s annual Eleanor Roosevelt Dinner in Lakewood.