Gabe Evans
Gabe Evans | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Colorado House of Representatives from the 48th district | |
| Assumed office January 9, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Tonya Van Beber |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Patrick Henry College (BA) |
| Website | Campaign website |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 2009–2019 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | Colorado National Guard |
| Battles/wars | Operation Enduring Freedom |
Timothy Gabriel "Gabe" Joseph Evans[citation needed] is an American politician, former police lieutenant, and Army Captain. He is currently a member of the Colorado House of Representatives, representing the 48th District.[1] A Republican, Evans represents a district that includes parts of Weld and Adams counties including the communities of Brighton, Lochbuie, Fort Lupton, Todd Creek, and Platteville.[2] Evans is the Republican nominee in the 2024 election for Colorado's 8th congressional district.
Early life and career
[edit]Evans is the grandson of Mexican immigrants.[1] He earned a bachelor's degree in government and strategic intelligence from Patrick Henry College.[3]
Evans's military service includes two years in the Virginia Army National Guard from 2007 to 2009. After that, in 2009, he earned a commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Army, while also joining and serving in the Colorado National Guard from 2009 to 2019. In the army he learned to fly UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. He served in Operation Enduring Freedom from 2012 to 2013 and reached the rank of captain. In the Colorado Guard, he used his piloting skills to help fight wildfires and to carry out search and rescue missions. His work included being stationed at Buckley Air Force Base. He was honorably discharged in 2019.[4]
In 2011, while serving in the Colorado National Guard, Evans joined the Arvada, Colorado Police Department. He reached the rank of lieutenant, and he retired in January 2022 to run for office.[4]
Colorado House of Representatives
[edit]In the 2022 Colorado House of Representatives election, Evans defeated his Democratic Party and Libertarian Party opponents, winning 63.31% of the total votes cast.[5]
Evans has focused his tenure on criminal justice issues. He has sponsored bills aimed at "ensuring public employees get time off for National Guard service and studying whether judicial personnel are being properly trained on how to work with crime victims."[6]
2024 U.S. House campaign
[edit]On September 6, 2023, Evans announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination to represent Colorado's 8th congressional district in the 2024 elections.[7] He was endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Evans defeated former Colorado State Representative Janak Joshi in the Republican primary. He will face the Democratic incumbent Yadira Caraveo in the November 2024 general election.[8]
Evans fired his campaign’s political director, Jessica Spindle, on September 11, 2024, after The Colorado Times Recorder reported on Spindle’s history of promoting political violence, QAnon conspiracy theories, and antisemitism online. In one of the posts, Spindle, who is on the board of Weld County school district RE-8 in Fort Lupton, Colorado, posted a photo of then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi with a post that read, in part, “Someone please shoot her!”[9][10]
Political positions
[edit]Asked if the 2020 United States presidential election was stolen from Trump, Evans replied "no-ish":[11]
Look at the Hunter Biden laptop story in October. That's when that broke. And if you went on social media, if you went on a lot of the big tech sites, what you would see is that would be flagged as fake news, false news, fact-checked. That was all squelched and suppressed until after the election. That information being kept away from the voters prior to the election was an act of interference in that election.[12]
Evans said the issue of whether to ban access to abortion should be left up to states, but that he believes abortion should be banned except in cases of rape, incest, or when a mother’s life is at risk.[13]
Evans said the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program should remain in place and people who received deportation protections under that initiative should not be deported.[14]
Asked what his campaign's three main messages were, Evans said "American security, starting with the border; American prosperity, starting with reducing the cost of living; and American education, starting with empowering families."[15]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Paul, Jesse (September 6, 2023). "Republican state representative announces bid to unseat Democrat Yadira Caraveo in Colorado's 8th Congressional District". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
- ^ Colorado Independent Legislative Redistricting Commission (March 18, 2022). "Colorado House District 48 (2021)" (PDF). State of Colorado. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
- ^ "2022 Colorado primary election guide: State House of Representatives". Colorado Politics. June 28, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
- ^ a b Ward, Belen (February 8, 2022). "Rancher running for the state house". Fort Lupton Press. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
- ^ "Colorado election results: November 8, 2022, general election state representative district 48". Colorado Secretary of State. State of Colorado. n.d. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
- ^ Kim, Caitlyn (September 6, 2023). "GOP state Rep. Gabe Evans joins contest to challenge Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
- ^ Luning, Ernest (September 6, 2023). "State lawmaker Gabe Evans joins GOP primary in bid to challenge Yadira Caraveo in Colorado's 8th CD". Colorado Politics. Archived from the original on September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
- ^ Kenney, Andrew (June 25, 2024). "State Rep. Gabe Evans will take on first-term Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo in Congressional District 8". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
- ^ Maulbetsch, Erik (September 11, 2024). "GOP Candidate's Political Director Posts Anti-Semitism, Conspiracies & Calls for Violence". The Colorado Times Recorder. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
- ^ Maulbetsch, Erik (September 12, 2024). "CO Congressional Candidate Evans Fires Political Director Following Times Recorder Reporting on Antisemitic & Violent Posts". The Colorado Times Recorder. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
- ^ "The Unaffiliated | Gabe Evans and Janak Joshi face off ahead of 8th Congressional District Republican primary". June 4, 2024.
- ^ "The Unaffiliated | Gabe Evans and Janak Joshi face off ahead of 8th Congressional District Republican primary". June 4, 2024.
- ^ "The Unaffiliated | Gabe Evans and Janak Joshi face off ahead of 8th Congressional District Republican primary". June 4, 2024.
- ^ "The Unaffiliated | Gabe Evans and Janak Joshi face off ahead of 8th Congressional District Republican primary". June 4, 2024.
- ^ "Gabe Evans".
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