NEWSLETTERS
SUBSCRIBE
Colorado Politics

Print Edition

Log in
My Account
Log in
Subscribe
My Account
Log in

Progressive group targets Colorado Republican Gabe Evans over Trump’s tariffs in radio ad campaign

By 04/29/2025 | updated 12 months ago
U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, a Fort Lupton Republican, prepares to take the stage at a Donald Trump rally on Oct. 11, 2024, in Aurora, prior to his election in Colorado's closely divided 8th Congressional District. (ErnestLuning, Colorado Politicsernest.luning@coloradopolitics.comhttps://www.coloradopolitics.com/content/tncms/avatars/4/9f/437/49f43708-eabc-11e8-95f5-6bd26bd8275d.795315d1c1f9d6e50136091af6448829.png)

A progressive group is attacking U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans over the Colorado Republican’s support for President Donald Trump’s tariff policies as part of an ad campaign aimed at pressuring GOP lawmakers who represent rural communities in competitive districts.

The group, 314 Action, began airing a 60-second radio ad on Monday on stations that reach listeners in the 8th Congressional District, which covers parts of Adams, Weld and Larimer counties and is the state’s lone tossup seat.

Evans, a former police officer and former state lawmaker from Fort Lupton, unseated first-term Democrat Yadira Caraveo last year in one of the closest congressional races in the country, winning by fewer than 2,500 votes. Both major parties have targeted the seat this cycle, calling it crucial to winning a majority in the House after next year’s midterms.

A spokeswoman for 314 Action — which focuses on electing Democrats with backgrounds in science, engineering, math and technology to public office — told Colorado Politics that the ad targeting Evans and five other House Republicans is part of a seven-figure advocacy campaign to confront the Trump administration.

“Trump casinos, Trump University, Trump steaks, Trump airlines — all went out of business or bankrupt,” the ad’s announcer says. “Now Donald Trump is president, and his disastrous tariff policies are leading our whole economy to a dark place.”

The ad maintains that Trump’s sweeping tariffs will make farmers and seniors on fixed incomes “feel the pain,” as prices rise and other countries retaliate, making exports harder to sell. After warning that “recession is good for no one,” the ad tells listeners to call Evans “and urge him to stand up to Trump on tariffs before he bankrupts us too.”

Earlier this month, Trump imposed 10% tariffs on nearly all imported goods, with steeper tariffs placed on some countries’ imports and specific types of goods, including automobiles and pharmaceuticals, in what administration officials have described as an aggressive move to confront a trade imbalance and return manufacturing to the United States.

Shaughnessy Naughton, 314 Action’s president, called Trump’s tariffs “economic terrorism against the American people” in a statement to Colorado Politics.

“These weak-willed representatives know that our farmers and rural communities are going to be hit the hardest,” Naughton said. “But instead of standing up for their communities, they will continue to let Trump destroy our economy. It’s time for Republicans to grow a spine and do the right thing.”

Two Democrats — Caraveo and state Rep. Manny Rutinel — have already launched campaigns for the chance to face Evans in 2026. Caraveo, a pediatrician and the first physician to represent Colorado in Congress, was endorsed in 2022 and 2024 by 314 Action Fund, an affiliate of 314 Action.

Evans’ campaign declined to comment on the radio ads.

U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, a Fort Lupton Republican, prepares to take the stage at a Donald Trump rally on Oct. 11, 2024, in Aurora, prior to his election in Colorado's closely divided 8th Congressional District. (ErnestLuning, Colorado Politicsernest.luning@coloradopolitics.comhttps://www.coloradopolitics.com/content/tncms/avatars/4/9f/437/49f43708-eabc-11e8-95f5-6bd26bd8275d.795315d1c1f9d6e50136091af6448829.png)
U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, a Fort Lupton Republican, prepares to take the stage at a Donald Trump rally on Oct. 11, 2024, in Aurora, prior to his election in Colorado’s closely divided 8th Congressional District. (ErnestLuning, Colorado Politicsernest.luning@coloradopolitics.comhttps://www.coloradopolitics.com/content/tncms/avatars/4/9f/437/49f43708-eabc-11e8-95f5-6bd26bd8275d.795315d1c1f9d6e50136091af6448829.png)
Tags
Avatar photo
Ernest Luning

Reporter

PREV

PREVIOUS

Colorado lawmakers face tight deadline with 257 bills pending with 9 days left in 2025 session

With nine days to go in the 2025 legislative session, lawmakers have 257 bills remaining out of the 652 bills introduced. That includes 21 more bills added in the past week, 42 fewer than a year ago. The remaining bills and resolutions include some of the more controversial measures of the 2025 session. House Joint […]

NEXT

NEXT UP

Air Force Academy's staff cuts unclear amid mass resignations; cadets assured of 'world-class' education

While the Air Force Academy sent a letter to incoming cadets early last week reassuring them of a quality education at the school, a definitive plan for layoffs among faculty and staff is still in the works. Among the academy’s civilians around 140 have resigned through the federal government’s two deferred resignation programs, but the […]
Welcome Back.

Streak: 9 days i

Stories you've missed since your last login:

Stories you've saved for later:

Recommended stories based on your interests:

Edit my interests