{"id":363,"date":"2026-05-29T09:33:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T09:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=363"},"modified":"2026-05-29T09:33:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T09:33:11","slug":"shannon-bird-and-manny-rutinel-try-to-differentiate-in-first-major-debate-but-show-they-are-aligned-on-most-major-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=363","title":{"rendered":"Shannon Bird and Manny Rutinel try to differentiate in first major debate, but show they are aligned on most major issues"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

GREELEY \u2014 <\/strong>The two Democrats vying for the chance to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans in Colorado\u2019s 8th Congressional District tried to find ways to attack each other at their first major debate Thursday but ended up agreeing on many major issues.<\/p>\n

Read more WATCH: Democratic candidate forum for Colorado\u2019s 8th Congressional District<\/a><\/p>\n

Former state Rep. Shannon Bird of Westminster and state Rep. Manny Rutinel of Commerce City said they want to tax high-income earners and corporations to subsidize things like childcare and healthcare. The both said they want to keep the Suncor Energy oil refinery in Commerce City, the state\u2019s major petroleum refinery, operating, though with stringent oversight.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Both candidates, at the forum hosted by The Colorado Sun and the Colorado Health Foundation, also repeatedly attacked Evans and President Donald Trump, often mentioning their names together. They also talked about their shared experience of being raised by single mothers.<\/p>\n

When it came to questions about whether Congress should raise the eligibility age for Social Security, both said no, and the federal minimum wage, both said yes. Both said they\u2019d support a proposed state ballot initiative in November to impose a graduated income tax. And both said they would not support a federal fracking ban.<\/p>\n

The candidates attempted to differentiate each other mostly on personality and politics, not policy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rutinel pressed Bird on why Colorado\u2019s most heavily Hispanic congressional district shouldn\u2019t have a Latino representative in Congress. Bird didn\u2019t directly respond but instead stressed that she had a deep understanding of what is now the 8th District after living in the area for nearly 25 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need a representative who knows the community,\u201d said Bird, who also said she recognized how \u201ccrucial\u201d the Latino community there was.<\/p>\n

Bird and Rutinel also attacked each other over their time in the legislature. Rutinel accused Bird of abandoning her constituents to \u201cpursue a personal ambition\u201d when she resigned from the legislature earlier this year to focus on her congressional bid. Bird said she resigned to avoid earning a taxpayer-funded salary while campaigning for Congress, slamming Rutinel for remaining in the legislature.<\/p>\n

Bird and a super PAC supporting her campaign are running TV ads attacking Rutinel for voting in favor of the state budget this year, alongside all but one Democrat in the legislature, because it cut Medicaid to address a roughly $1.5 billion deficit. But until Thursday, the former state budget writer never explained what she would have cut instead.<\/p>\n

Bird said during the debate that she would have dug into the state\u2019s rainy day fund to balance the budget, a move that would have left the legislature vulnerable to crisis in an economic downturn. (The legislature reduced its budget reserves to 13% from 15% as a balancing maneuver, drawing criticism from some lawmakers and dire warnings from nonpartisan legislative staff.)<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cWe could have tapped additional funds from that reserve to head off the very worst of these cuts,\u201d she said, adding that it would have given voters an opportunity to vote for a potential November ballot measure increasing taxes on wealthy individuals and companies to raise billions in new tax revenue.<\/p>\n

Rutinel blasted Bird for her committee vote against a 2025 bill he sponsored that set out to further limit local and state cooperation with ICE by expanding prohibitions on data sharing and requiring child care centers, schools, certain health care facilities and libraries to publish policies stating when federal immigration agents can enter private areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was only one Democrat that voted with Republicans to allow police to cooperate with ICE and allow ICE to raid our schools and hospitals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bird said she voted no on the bill in committee because she was concerned about a provision that would have allowed for state agency workers to be personally fined for sharing information with ICE.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think that was right,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

And yet, when it comes to how the candidates would regulate ICE in Congress, the two largely agreed. Both said they would ban agents from wearing masks and using warrantless arrests and require them to use identification.<\/p>\n

The few areas where the candidates differed<\/h2>\n

The candidates disagreed on whether the federal government should encourage or require zoning reform to make housing more affordable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Jared Polis vetoes bills to regulate social media platforms and charge fees on some video game transactions<\/a><\/p>\n

Rutinel said Congress should provide incentives for municipalities that agree to change zoning to allow for more affordable housing units to be built near transit stations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t allow localities to put in red tape for these affordable housing units,\u201d Rutinel said.<\/p>\n

Bird said the federal government should not play a role in changing zoning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s good to take away people\u2019s voices when they talk about what they want their communities to look like,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The pair also had slightly different answers on whether Congress should pass a bill outlawing certain semiautomatic rifles, sometimes referred to as assault weapons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bird said she would back such a measure \u201cif it\u2019s enforceable and constitutional,\u201d while Rutinel simply said yes, he would.<\/p>\n

In 2024, Bird joined eight Democrats and all Republicans in the Colorado House to vote against a bill that would have banned the sale of so-called assault weapons in Colorado. The bill then stalled in the Senate because of a lack of Democratic support. Rutinel cosponsored and voted for the bill.<\/p>\n

Both candidates said they wanted to serve on the Energy and Commerce Committee if elected to the U.S. House, while Bird said she would also like to serve on the Finance Committee and Rutinel said he wanted to also be on the Oversight Committee.<\/p>\n

The backdrop of the debate<\/h2>\n

The forum came a day after Democrat Evan Munsing dropped out of the 8th District primary and thus didn\u2019t participate in the debate Thursday as planned. The former U.S. Marine\u2019s name will still appear on the primary ballot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The congressional district, which spans Denver\u2019s northeast suburbs along U.S. 85 to Greeley, is\u00a0<\/p>\n

Colorado\u2019s newest and its only true tossup congressional district and one of the most competitive U.S. House districts in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The winner of the November election in the 8th District could determine which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n

About 40% of the district\u2019s population is Latino. It\u2019s also home to some of the biggest meat and dairy producers in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Evans, an Army veteran and former police officer from Fort Lupton, was elected to Congress in 2024, beating U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo by about 2,500 votes, or less than a percentage point. It was the biggest win for Republicans in the state since 2016.<\/p>\n

As soon as Evans won, Democrats began working to try to defeat him in the next election. A number of Democrats entered the race, including Caraveo, a pediatrician and former state lawmaker, but later dropped out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Colorado Sun staff writers Taylor Dolven and Jesse Paul contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more 2 Boulder residents sue over city\u2019s use of Flock cameras, citing widespread privacy violations<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GREELEY \u2014 The two Democrats vying for the chance to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-and-government"],"yoast_head":"\nShannon Bird and Manny Rutinel try to differentiate in first major debate, but show they are aligned on most major issues - Colorado Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=363\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shannon Bird and Manny Rutinel try to differentiate in first major debate, but show they are aligned on most major issues - Colorado Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"GREELEY \u2014 The two Democrats vying for the chance to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=363\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colorado Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-29T09:33:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=363#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=363\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/144e01590ba7a61cfe6fd08a0fa7a482\"},\"headline\":\"Shannon Bird and Manny Rutinel try to differentiate in first major debate, but show they are aligned on most major issues\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-29T09:33:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=363\"},\"wordCount\":1211,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=363#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/6376c92a4b64d85c435f002297f0a5ef.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics and Government\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=363#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=363\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=363\",\"name\":\"Shannon Bird and Manny Rutinel try to differentiate in first major debate, but show they are aligned on most major issues - Colorado Relocation Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=363#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=363#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/6376c92a4b64d85c435f002297f0a5ef.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-29T09:33:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/144e01590ba7a61cfe6fd08a0fa7a482\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=363#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=363\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=363#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/6376c92a4b64d85c435f002297f0a5ef.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/6376c92a4b64d85c435f002297f0a5ef.webp\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=363#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Shannon Bird and Manny Rutinel try to differentiate in first major debate, but show they are aligned on most major issues\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Colorado Relocation Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/144e01590ba7a61cfe6fd08a0fa7a482\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradorelocationreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Shannon Bird and Manny Rutinel try to differentiate in first major debate, but show they are aligned on most major issues - Colorado Relocation Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=363","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Shannon Bird and Manny Rutinel try to differentiate in first major debate, but show they are aligned on most major issues - Colorado Relocation Report","og_description":"GREELEY \u2014 The two Democrats vying for the chance to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe...","og_url":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=363","og_site_name":"Colorado Relocation Report","article_published_time":"2026-05-29T09:33:11+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=363#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=363"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/144e01590ba7a61cfe6fd08a0fa7a482"},"headline":"Shannon Bird and Manny Rutinel try to differentiate in first major debate, but show they are aligned on most major issues","datePublished":"2026-05-29T09:33:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=363"},"wordCount":1211,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=363#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6376c92a4b64d85c435f002297f0a5ef.webp","articleSection":["Politics and Government"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=363#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=363","url":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=363","name":"Shannon Bird and Manny Rutinel try to differentiate in first major debate, but show they are aligned on most major issues - Colorado Relocation Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=363#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=363#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6376c92a4b64d85c435f002297f0a5ef.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-29T09:33:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/144e01590ba7a61cfe6fd08a0fa7a482"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=363#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=363"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=363#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6376c92a4b64d85c435f002297f0a5ef.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6376c92a4b64d85c435f002297f0a5ef.webp","width":2560,"height":1707},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=363#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Shannon Bird and Manny Rutinel try to differentiate in first major debate, but show they are aligned on most major issues"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/","name":"Colorado Relocation Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/144e01590ba7a61cfe6fd08a0fa7a482","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}