Colorado congressional candidates in up-for-grabs district walk the line on border security
The U.S. House race in Colorado's 8th Congressional District is one of the closest in the nation and a testing ground for Republicans' and Democrats' strategies to reach Latino voters
DENVER (AP) — The stage at a recent rally for presidential candidate Donald Trump in Colorado was designed with a pointed message in mind: poster-sized mugshots of Hispanic men in prison-orange loomed from the stage as speaker after speaker preceding Trump stoked fear over violent crimes they associated with illegal immigration.
“These illegal aliens, they do deserve one thing,” shouted Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert to raucous applause. “They deserve a one-way ticket home!"
A glaring exception in the lineup was Gabe Evans, a Republican running in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District. Evans said Democrats “opened our borders” but left any direct mention of immigration at that, bypassing the easy applause lines.
As Evans tries to win a district that’s nearly 40% Latino and could be pivotal in determining which party controls Congress, he’s balancing the need to sound tough on immigration without tipping into menacing language.
