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Candidates › CO-08 race › 2025–2026
Manny Rutinel
D Democratic nominee for U.S. House, CO-08
Has not served in Congress
- On the ballot
- On the general election ballotNov 3, 2026 · Colorado US House 8
- Top priorities
- Lower Costs for Working Families
- Protect and Strengthen Social Security and Medicare
- Lower Healthcare Costs and Expand Access
- Make Housing Affordable for Working Families
- Support Veterans and Military Families
- Money
- $9.5M raised, $8.5M spent, $1M cash on hand (through Oct 14, 2026). Where it comes from
- Who gives
- 42% of individual money from donors at $200 or less · 13% from Colorado · largest committee giver ZINC COLLECTIVE PAC, $23K
- Outside groups
- $4.2M supporting, $3.8M opposing Rutinel
- Backed by
- Ken Salazar · Colorado Teachers · Latino Victory and 122 more. As the campaign lists them
10 priorities from mannyforcolorado.com, in the order they are listed there. Every heading and the text under it is copied exactly, as one passage for each page it is from, and links to that place on the page; hover a source to see which passage it opens.
What I’ll Fight For: I will lower costs for middle-class families. I’ll expand tax credits for millions of working parents, make billionaires pay what they owe in taxes, and close tax loopholes for corporations. I will reduce the burden on working- and middle-class families by bringing down the costs of everyday things – prescription drugs, health care premiums, and energy bills. That’s real breathing room for folks who need it most.
What Trump and Gabe Evans Want: Trump’s and Gabe Evans’ economic policies make life worse for working families and seniors. Trump’s tariffs mean higher prices on basics like groceries. And their budget cuts take away earned benefits like Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare - benefits Trump calls “entitlements” - to pay for massive tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations. It is a one-two punch that makes life worse for millions of Coloradans.
Stop Tariffs and Healthcare Cuts That Drive Up Costs: Trump’s tariffs drive up the cost of everyday goods like groceries and housing. Trump said he would lower, not raise prices, but his tariffs and his hundreds of billions in cuts to Medicaid and healthcare credits, which families rely on, pinch families’ budgets further.
Protect and Expand Access to Food Security Programs: Four in five Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) households include a child, an elderly individual, or a person with a disability. Overall, more than 65% of SNAP participants are in families with children. SNAP is essential to protecting our nation’s most vulnerable.
Fight Against Junk Fees: I will fight to pass laws that protect consumers from surprise charges at the cash register. I will work to save consumers billions of dollars on unfair hidden fees for airfares, tickets, hotels, and banking, and allow consumers to know the real cost of everything upfront.
Require Easier Subscription Cancellation: We need to save consumers money by requiring companies to make it easier to cancel a subscription. I will fight for legislation that will require sellers to make it as easy for consumers to cancel their enrollment as it was to sign up.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · mannyforcolorado.com/issues
I’m honored to have the endorsement of former Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley.
Social Security is not a handout. It’s a promise that every American pays into so they can retire with dignity. The richest billionaires in the world don’t think you should get to retire after paying into Social Security your entire life, but I do. In Congress, I will fight to protect and strengthen Social Security so every senior can retire with dignity and every worker knows that the promise they paid into will be there for them when they retire.
What I’ll Fight For: I’ll protect Social Security and Medicare. If anyone tries to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age, I’ll stop them. I’ll protect and strengthen Social Security and make the wealthy pay their fair share. I’m committed to protecting and strengthening Social Security and will oppose any attempt to cut Social Security benefits for current or future recipients.
What Trump and Gabe Evans Want: Trump, Gabe Evans, and their billionaire donors plan to lay off half the Social Security workforce and shutter field offices across the country. This will mean the delay, disruption, and denial of benefits. It’s a backdoor cut. It is an insult to hard-working Coloradans who earned their benefits. Republicans have reduced staffing at Social Security to dangerous levels, and they want to cut customer service in half. These cuts inflict pain on seniors and people with disabilities.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · mannyforcolorado.com/issues
What I’ll Fight For: I’ll lower healthcare costs. We need to expand Medicare’s power to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs just like the VA does for our veterans. That’s not just saving seniors money. It’s saving taxpayers money by cutting the federal deficit by hundreds of billions because Medicare will no longer have to pay exorbitant prices to Big Pharma. Americans pay more for prescription drugs than anywhere else. Instead of paying $400 a month for insulin, seniors with diabetes should not pay more than $35 a month. I want to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for every American who needs it and provide similar benefits for other essential medicines.
Healthcare is an essential need. We’re not talking about a luxury. It’s not right that, in particular, our seniors have to make the choice about whether they fill a prescription that a doctor ordered because it will save their life, or pay for food or rent.
Support Bodily Autonomy: When it comes to abortion, the government needs to respect Americans’ freedom to make our own decisions about our own families without interference from politicians or anyone else. Politicians have no place in a private medical decision.
Protect Consumers from Surprise Fees: I’ll crack down on surprise billing at hospitals. I will fight to protect patients from unexpected medical bills and prohibit insurers from charging out-of-network rates when patients seek care at in-network facilities.
What Trump and Gabe Evans Want: Trump and Gabe Evans’ cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act will kick hundreds of thousands of Coloradans off their health care. Trump and Gabe Evans said they would come in and lower costs, but instead, their policies raise prices and increase the costs of insurance premiums and healthcare.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · mannyforcolorado.com/issues
What I’ll Fight For: I’ll make housing more affordable. Housing is not a luxury; it’s a basic life necessity. Affordable housing should not be treated as just a commodity but rather as a common good that every Coloradan should be able to afford, whether someone works at McDonald’s, Walmart, or anywhere else. If someone is working full-time, there is no reason their paycheck shouldn’t cover food & rent. This shouldn’t be controversial.
What Trump and Gabe Evans Want: Trump and Gabe Evans’ tariff policies drive up costs for groceries and housing at a time when they are already sky high. Trump and Gabe Evans were elected to lower costs, not raise them. But even Trump acknowledges that tariffs are likely to drive up costs - on everything from fruit to building materials.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · mannyforcolorado.com/issues
What I’ll Fight For: I’ll expand cancer treatment coverage for veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs should issue new rules to expand the types of cancers for which veterans exposed to radiation, burn pits, or water contamination can get treatment. I’ll expand community-based suicide prevention programs for veterans. We’ll step up screenings and partner with local governments and non-profits with the goal of reducing the number of veterans who die by suicide, which is currently averaging 17 per day. I’ll expand peer support programs to help veterans who are coping with a mental health condition.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · mannyforcolorado.com/issues
What I’ll Fight For: I’ll support policies that reduce income inequality. A strong middle class is essential for a healthy economy, and I’ll work to create good-paying jobs, raise the federal minimum wage, and ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to succeed.
Increase Vocational Certificates: We need to increase funding for programs that allow interested high school students to graduate with an industry-recognized credential in addition to their high school diploma. Students should be able to pursue career training while in high school that culminates in a credential demonstrating their readiness for jobs in their chosen skilled trade.
Support Unions: Unions are often the only path towards fair wages amidst rising costs and inflation. Millions of Americans—teachers, nurses, ambulance workers, and other essential service workers—haven’t seen their salaries increase in years. Rising costs have made it more difficult for these hard workers to find stability and prosperity. I support workers taking collective action for fair wages and believe that families deserve economic stability.
Support Working Parents: I will work to make sure working parents can afford to raise a family and have access to sick days, paid family and medical leave, and affordable child care that will enable millions more people to go to work.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · mannyforcolorado.com/issues
Increasingly, we have a system that works for large corporations, billionaires, and big donors who buy access and influence, leading to policies that cater to their interests at the expense of everyone else. But we can fix it.
End Billionaire Tax Cheating: I want to close the loopholes that allow the very wealthy to avoid paying their taxes. Instead of cutting the number of audits of wealthy taxpayers, I’ll support laws that reduce the deficit by hundreds of billions by cracking down on wealthy tax cheats. That’s being fiscally responsible.
End Corruption in Congress: I will fight to ban stock trading by members of Congress and close lobbyist loopholes. I will fight to reverse Citizens United and get dark money out of politics.
Special interests and dark money groups have too much power in our elections, leaving voters frustrated and ignored. We need to give that power back to the people by exploring voting reforms, such as approval voting, that gives power back to the will of working people.
No Corporate PAC Money Pledge: My campaign does not take corporate PAC money because I believe elected officials should answer to the people, not corporate special interests. I believe Democracy only works when it belongs to all of us.
Voting Reforms: We need to give power back to working people by strengthening democracy and exploring voting reforms, such as approval voting and term limits.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · mannyforcolorado.com/issues
Congress needs to make sure artificial intelligence works for people and not the other way around. Giant corporations are putting profits ahead of people, pushing reckless experiments that risk global catastrophe for our family’s health, our kids’ future, and our paychecks. Nobody voted for this.
Hold AI Companies Accountable: Families deserve strong protections, real accountability, and a fair shot. That's why I support policies that ensure AI companies are not above the law. That includes requiring large AI firms to report critical safety incidents in a timely manner, requiring independent safety reviews before major model releases, implementing protections for whistleblowers, holding AI firms that lie to the government about safety practices or infringe on privacy rights accountable, and requiring notice before AI-driven layoffs at large employers. I will also work to fund cyber defense for hospitals, water, and the grid against AI-enabled attacks. I also support age checks and parental controls on AI chatbots for minors, to keep kids safe online.
Make AI Work for Coloradans: AI can, of course, deliver real benefits. I will work tirelessly and use my expertise and insights to make sure artificial intelligence works for Coloradans, not just for large corporations and billionaires.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · mannyforcolorado.com/issues
Stopping the Abuse of Your Tax Dollars: While you struggle with rising costs and can't afford rent, Trump spends billions of taxpayer dollars and other government resources building immigrant prison camps like Alligator Alcatraz, killing American citizens, and violently targeting law-abiding immigrant families. If Trump spent as much time worrying about lowering costs as he does tormenting immigrants, things would be a lot less expensive. I will fight to keep our federal government focused on lowering costs and stop Trump’s corruption and abuse of power.
Protecting Our Neighbors from Brutality: As the son of a single immigrant mom, I have always worked to be a champion for immigrants and working people, and I will do the same in Congress. I am the only candidate in this race who has voted to protect Colorado immigrants from ICE brutality as a cosponsor of Colorado SB25-276, which keeps Colorado law enforcement focused on keeping us safe rather than supporting ICE’s cruelty. Trump’s immigration policies make families afraid to go to school, church, or the doctor, or even report crimes. Our communities work best when everyone feels safe.
Holding the Trump Administration Accountable: In Congress, I will hold Trump and ICE accountable for their actions. Trump's ICE agents should not be wearing masks, taking people in unmarked cars, or stopping people based on their skin color, and they should be wearing body cameras, required to use judicial orders, and held accountable when they break the law. Americans deserve strong standards for all law enforcement.
Comprehensive Immigration Reform and Public Safety: Our immigration system is broken. We need to fix it. We need an immigration enforcement system that improves public safety and national security by focusing on the deportation of violent criminals, gang members, and human traffickers – not our neighbors who contribute to our communities, pay taxes, and pose no threat to our safety. We should give law enforcement the tools it needs to stop fentanyl and weapons from coming through our border. And we should provide a pathway to citizenship for the immigrants who have been here the longest and groups like DREAMers, while making sure we protect undocumented workers from exploitation. In Congress, I will fight tirelessly to create a fair and safe immigration system that reflects America’s values.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · mannyforcolorado.com/issues
Investing in Our Communities, Not in Billionaires' Bank Accounts: The tax breaks for billionaires included in the Trump-Evans budget bill could have been spent on things Colorado communities actually need to stay safe. In Congress, I’ll fight to invest in:
- Fully staffed local police departments, new fire stations, improved water systems, better roads, and modernized school buildings.
- More affordable and accessible health care, including mental health care and addiction treatment.
- Safe and affordable housing options.
Keeping Kids Safe: I’ve worked to be a champion for our kids, working across the aisle to deliver real results. I successfully pushed for tough, bipartisan laws that directly protect children in our communities: cracking down hard on human trafficking, imposing much harsher penalties on child sex offenders, and making sure teachers and coaches are legally required to report suspected child abuse within 24 hours. That’s putting kids first, and it’s what I’ll do in Congress.
Investing in Law Enforcement: I will make our communities safer by fully funding our local police, ensuring they have the resources to hire and keep officers, and respond quickly when you need them most. I'll also deliver dedicated federal funding to support law enforcement in our small towns and rural areas, which have too often been overlooked by Washington. In Colorado, I’ve consistently voted to fund law enforcement, ensuring safer communities for our families. I delivered over $2 billion to support Colorado police, and championed a bipartisan effort, strongly backed by local County Sheriffs, to create a $350 million fund to recruit, thoroughly train, and retain dedicated officers, and provide vital support for the families of our fallen heroes.
Tough on crime, whoever the perpetrator is: I believe in justice for all Coloradans, including victims of white-collar and cyber crimes. AI-generated scams, voice cloning, and deepfake videos are already being used to cheat families, seniors, and small businesses out of their hard-earned money. In Congress, I will fight to:
- Create sensible safeguards, including labeling and accountability, to prevent bad actors from misusing AI technology.
- Hold fraudsters accountable for cheating Coloradans.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · mannyforcolorado.com/issues