NEWS 09/05/2026Jeff Hurd wears his friction with Trump like a badge of honor
Plus: Rocky Mountain Farmers Union switches teams in CD8. New issue committees. New TV ads. New taxpayer-funded lawyers for lawmakers.
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U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd meets with constituents Monday at a library in Glenwood Springs. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)
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GLENWOOD SPRINGS — As he met with a few dozen constituents at a library here this week, U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd kept returning to a set of votes he cast during his first term in Congress: ones in opposition to President Donald Trump.
The Grand Junction Republican — staring down a more-difficult-than-expected reelection bid — highlighted his votes to extend health insurance subsidies offered as part of the Affordable Care Act, override Trump’s veto of a water bill affecting southeastern Colorado, and to reverse Trump’s tariffs on Canadian imports.
“Hopefully you’ve seen me as somebody that’s been a voice of independence,” he told an unaffiliated voter skeptical of his record. “I lost the president’s endorsement because I was willing to take that stand on tariffs. If I just wanted to stay in the president’s good graces, I never would have taken that tough vote.”
While the three other Republicans in Colorado’s congressional delegation are running for reelection this year in part or in whole on their ties to the president, Hurd is going in the opposite direction. He’s running away from the president and wearing the attacks he’s drawn from Trump like a badge of honor as he seeks reelection in the 3rd Congressional District, which spans the Western Slope into Pueblo and southeastern Colorado.
The congressman believes his streak of disagreeing with Trump will help him withstand what he calls national headwinds — like the high cost of gasoline and housing — that voters may be associating with the White House and thus Republicans as a whole.
“I trust that the voters see me as somebody that’s independent and willing to stand up, even when it’s not popular within his own party,” he said in an interview.
The full picture is a bit more complicated.
Trump reendorsed Hurd after being persuaded that Republicans couldn’t afford to lose his seat. And Hurd’s “yes” vote on the Trump-championed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the massive Republican tax and spending bill passed last year, is an easy line of attack for Democrats seeking to link the president and congressman together.
At the Glenwood Springs meet-and-greet event, Hurd was confronted by a woman who was with her 45-year-old son Chris, who has a developmental disability. She complained that her family’s Medicaid stipend had gone down, blaming the reduction on the One Big Beautiful Bill’s effect on state tax revenues, which in part prompted Medicaid cuts.
“I’m very disappointed in your voting for the big, beautiful bill,” said the woman, Renee McCullough.
Hurd argued that any Medicaid reductions in Colorado — so far — aren’t the result of the measure, since its work requirements for people on the healthcare safety net program haven’t taken effect.
“If we want to preserve Medicaid for those who need it, we need to make sure that we’re spending dollars not on able-bodied adults who are otherwise able to work,” Hurd told McCullough. “But we should be spending dollars on people like Chris.”
HURD ON CONGRESS CEDING ITS POWEROne of the more interesting exchanges during the meet and greet came when Hurd was asked about recent news of the apparent proof of Trump’s retaliation toward Colorado over the imprisonment of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters.
Joyce Jenkins, a 79-year-old retired lawyer and Democrat who lives in Glenwood Springs, wanted to know how Hurd planned to push back.
“Fundamentally, using the power of the federal government to coerce a state and to direct the retaliation for a state’s failure to implement some policy objective of the federal government is wrong,” he said. “This feels like this is something on a different level. And if that’s the case, then first of all, we need to understand exactly what happened, and we need to stop and prevent it from happening again.”
Hurd struggled to explain exactly how he would respond as a congressman should the courts confirm that Trump retaliated against Colorado over Peters’ prison sentence.
“Part of it is doing our job as Congress under Article 1 of the Constitution,” he said, citing the separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government. “The erosion of Congress’ control is something that I think we’ve seen not just in the past few years, but in decades.”
In an interview with The Colorado Sun and Colorado Public Radio, Hurd said that as a junior congressman, there’s not always much he can do publicly to push back on the Trump administration. But he argued there’s a lot he’s doing behind the scenes.
“I’m working hard to push back and make sure that we are rightsizing the balance of power not only between the executive branch and the legislative branch, but also between the federal government and the state government,” he said.
Jenkins said she didn’t like Hurd’s answer enough to commit to voting for him. She also didn’t commit, however, to casting her ballot for Hurd’s Democratic opponent, former Aspen City Councilman Dwayne Romero, either.
Colorado Public Radio reporter Bente Birkeland contributed to this report.
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WHAT TO WATCH IN THE WEEK AHEAD
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- The House Workplace Harassment Committee meets at 1 p.m. today at the state Capitol. It’s unclear why the panel was formed as its work often is done behind closed doors.
- The Commission on Medicaid meets at noon Thursday at the Colorado Capitol.
- KOAA-TV, The Gazette and the El Pomar Foundation are sponsoring an evening of debates Thursday at the Penrose House Garden Pavilion in Colorado Springs. At 6 p.m., Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank will face off with his Democratic challenger, Jessica Killin. At 7:30, Attorney General Phil
Weiser, a Democrat, will face former U.S. Rep. Greg Lopez, who is unaffiliated, in a gubernatorial debate. Republican candidate Victor Marx declined to participate. Find details, including how to watch a livestream, here.
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THE NARRATIVE
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The Rocky Mountain Farmers Union backed Yadira Caraveo in 2024. It’s supporting Gabe Evans this time around.
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Cattle graze on Brett Gray Ranch on June 15 in Lincoln County. Ranchers across the state are running their operations amidst an ongoing drought. (Cheney Orr, Special to The Colorado Sun)
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The Rocky Mountain Farmers Union is switching teams in the 8th Congressional District this year.
The group representing about 15,000 farmers and ranchers in Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico supported Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo’s unsuccessful 2024 reelection bid in the district. But this time around, it is backing Caraveo’s successor, Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans.
Why the switch? Evans’ opponent this year, Democratic state Rep. Manny Rutinel, who up until a few years ago was an outspoken animal rights advocate and was highly critical of farmers and ranchers who raise meat. (In 2021, for instance, as a student at Yale Law School, he was quoted in a campus publication saying “animal agriculture is a horrific, exploitive industry.”)
“We just see a lot of past statements and history — positions he’s taken, statements he’s made, groups he’s worked well with — that just really do not align with our member policy,” said Chad Franke, president of the union and chairman for the Farmers Union Rural PAC. “We think that they’re harmful to agriculture, especially animal agriculture. And in a very animal agriculture-intensive (congressional district), we don’t think he would be a friend to our members.”
Rutinel often points out that he’s changed his position on animal agriculture, calling Colorado farmers the envy of the world. But for Franke, that’s not enough.
“We really think that people need to run on their record,” he said.
As for Evans, Franke said the congressman and his staff have been engaged partners, highlighting Evans’ work on the farm bill and to restore funding through the Local Food Procurement Act that goes toward getting locally sourced food in schools.
“I just really hope that people pay attention to how important agriculture is to that district and vote accordingly,” Franke said.
Franke said the union backed Caraveo in 2024 over Evans because of how aligned she was with their mission and policy objectives.
Clay Volino, Rutinel’s campaign manager, said “Manny has consistently stood with farmers, ranchers, and food workers in the state House, including voting with the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union 91% of the time.” (Volino was referencing measures the union took a stance on.)
Volino pointed out that Rutinel “is proudly endorsed by the United Farm Workers and United Food and Commercial Workers, the meatpackers who represent JBS workers.”
A reality check: The Rocky Mountain Farmers Union’s endorsement is more symbolic than anything else. The group gave Caraveo’s campaign $400 in 2024 and has given Evans $200 this cycle. That’s enough to buy some yard signs, but it hardly makes a financial dent in a race that’s expected to draw tens of millions of dollars.
Sidenote: The union actually endorsed both Evans and Rutinel’s primary opponent, former state Rep. Shannon Bird, in the primary.
SPEAKING OF ENDORSEMENTSCobalt, the Colorado abortion rights group, released its list of congressional endorsements this week — a list that’s notable for who’s not on it.
The organization is backing Democratic U.S. Reps. Joe Neguse, Brittany Pettersen, Jason Crow and Melat Kiros, as well as Democratic U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper.
Cobalt didn’t endorse Rutinel in the 8th District, nor is it backing Democrats Dwayne Romero in the 3rd District; Eileen Laubacher in the 4th District; or Jessica Killin in the 5th District.
Laura Chapin, the group’s spokesperson, said Romero, Laubacher and Killin either didn’t apply for an endorsement or didn’t complete an application and screening process Cobalt requires. Cobalt says despite several attempts before and after the primary “to complete the endorsement,” Rutinel’s team never scheduled the candidate’s endorsement interview.
“Despite multiple promises of ‘we’ll circle back,’ they never confirmed a time,” Chapin said.
Volino defended Rutinel’s record on abortion.
“When it comes to abortion, Manny believes politicians have no place in a private medical decision and he’s proudly endorsed by Planned Parenthood,” Volino said.
MIKE JOHNSON-LINKED GROUP HAS NEW EVANS ADThe American Action Network, a dark money nonprofit linked to the Congressional Leadership Fund, is running a TV ad in the 8th Congressional District in support of Evans. (CLF is tied to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana.)
The 30-second spot touts Evans’ background in the military and as a police officer, and touts his vote in support of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
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THE POLITICAL TICKER
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COLORADO LEGISLATUREThe legislature’s Committee on Legal Services voted this week to provide taxpayer-funded attorneys to state Rep. Sheila Lieder, House Speaker Julie McCluskie and House Majority Leader Monica Duran in a lawsuit against the three brought by one of Lieder’s former aides.
Lieder will be represented by Eric Moutz.
McCluskie and Duran will be represented by Mark Grueskin.
The aide, Jennifer Chick, alleged she was “forced to resign from her position in the face of unbearable, continued retaliation from Rep. Lieder.”
PERSONNEL FILEMelissa Osse this week was named the new executive director of the Common Sense Institute, the conservative nonprofit think tank.
Osse previously served as a government affairs liaison for the organization in Colorado. She’s also held roles at HCA HealthONE and the lobbying firm Axiom Strategies and at one point worked as a legislative liaison for the Colorado Department of Transportation.
“CSI Colorado has tremendous momentum and I’m excited to have the opportunity to help take that work even further,” Osse said in a written statement. “Colorado is facing consequential economic and policy decisions, and there is enormous value in having an independent organization willing to dig into the data, ask difficult questions and give people the facts. I’m excited to lead this team, deepen our impact and continue building CSI into an essential resource for understanding the issues shaping Colorado.”
CAMPAIGN FINANCELet’s Go Colorado is a new issue committee created this week by attorney Gwen Benevento of West Group Law, a Republican firm, to support initiatives 175 and 302, which would direct more state funding to roads and cap the state’s income tax rate, and oppose Initiative 195 and Proposition NN, which would generate more revenue by making changes to the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.
Affordable Colorado, another issue committee, was formed last week by a Republican campaign consultant to oppose 195 and NN.
Two representatives of the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, a liberal-leaning nonprofit, created an issue committee earlier in the month to oppose initiatives 85, 95, 109 and 110. Those measures deal with fentanyl, immigration, transgender kids participating in gendered sports and gender-affirming care for kids.
TV ADSYes for Colorado Kids, the issue committee supporting measures on the November ballot boosting funding for K-12 education, is buying up TV ad time ahead of the election.
We’re seeing contracts on broadcast stations across the state.
The group is funded by teachers unions and Gary Advocacy, a philanthropic group.
In the 5th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank and his Democratic challenger, Jessica Killin, are each out with new TV ads.
DENVER CHAMBER’S BALLOT MEASURES POSITIONSThe Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce released its endorsement list for 2026 ballot measures and some of its positions are pretty interesting.
The group is supporting initiatives 85, 177, 232 and 308 (go here for a description of ballot proposals). It opposes Proposition NN; initiatives 175 and 195; and a likely ballot measure that increases sales taxes in some Front Range communities to pay for a passenger rail system.
The most interesting position the chamber took was on Initiative 175, which is backed by business interests and would direct more state funding to roads. The trade-off is that the measure would cut into other state spending areas, like education and healthcare.
Democrats at the Capitol this year passed House Bill 1430, which would offset the spending required by Initiative 175 if it passes by temporarily cutting Colorado’s main funding source for roads, the state gas tax, as well as transportation fees. That would effectively limit how much money the state would be forced by the measure to spend on roads.
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YOU HEARD IT HERE
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“The candidates don’t want to get around me. I hadn’t had any of them want to take a picture with me.”
— Republican gubernatorial candidate Victor Marx speaking to a crowd last weekend in Loveland |
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Marx told the crowd about a recent conversation he had with Republican Michael Allen, the El Paso County District Attorney now running for attorney general.
“I said, ‘Am I still radioactive?’ He’s like, ‘Oh, yeah,’” Marx recounted.
Marx’s takeaway: “There’s nothing wrong with being radioactive. I just light up in the dark, brother. I’ll run people off that shouldn’t be around me.”
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
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