Colorado US House race between Rep. Caraveo and Evans comes down to Latino voters

DENVER (AP) — One U.S. House race in Colorado is not just one of the closest, and closely watched, in the nation. It's also a test of Republicans' and Democrats' appeal to Latino voters who make up nearly 40% of district's electorate.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo nabbed victory by less that 1,700 votes in 2022 in Colorado's 8th Congressional District, which stretches north of Denver and was created after redistricting in 2020. Now, Republican state Rep. Gabe Evans is trying to win the seat for the GOP in a race that could determine control of the U.S. House.

Caraveo and Evans are both Hispanic and have carefully tailored their platforms and rhetoric away from some positions in their party — particularly around border security — and toward both the Latino population and undecided voters who will determine the outcome.

The balancing act comes a time when views on immigration are increasingly nuanced, including among Latinos.

While swinging an endorsement from presidential candidate Donald Trump, Evans' has nonetheless separated himself from some of the former president's policy proposals and more caustic rhetoric around immigration.

Evans demurred when asked about Trump's proposal to use the National Guard for mass deportations of everyone who is in the country illegally, and leans into proposals to make it easier for people to immigrate legally.

Evans, a grandson of Mexican immigrants, does however lean heavily into demands for greater border security and more resources to find and deport those who have committed violent crimes or are in cartels. The candidate is trying to tap into voters' concerns around public safety, which he sees as a weakness for Democrats.

Caraveo, too, has deviated from her party during her tenure in Congress and on the campaign trail, demanding greater border security and a harder line on crime. In speeches and interviews, Caraveo lumps Evans in with Trump's more extreme rhetoric against immigrants, seeing that as a weakness for Republicans among Latino voters.

Both candidates are trying to reach voters on one of the core issues for many Americans, including Latinos: the cost of living.

Evans served in the military, as a police officer and in the National Guard and was elected to the Colorado House in 2022. Caraveo, whose parents immigrated from Mexico, is a pediatrician and was elected to the Colorado House before joining Congress in 2022.

Election workers review ballots at the Denver Elections Division in Denver on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Chet Strange)

Election workers review ballots at the Denver Elections Division in Denver on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Chet Strange)

Voters cast their ballots in Denver on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Chet Strange)

People pass a campaign sign on an abandoned building in Denver on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Chet Strange)

A voter casts their ballot at a drop box in Denver on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Chet Strange)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Republican Mike Braun won the Indiana governor’s race Tuesday, defeating Democrat Jennifer McCormick, a former Republican who split with the party after serving as the state’s schools superintendent.

The victory by Braun, a U.S. senator who’s the wealthy founder of a national auto parts distribution business, extends the GOP’s 20-year-hold on the state’s top office in deep red Indiana.

Braun, 70, will succeed outgoing Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, who could not seek a third term because of term limits. Braun opted not to seek reelection to a second term in the Senate so he could run for governor. He won the GOP’s six-way May primary election to succeed Holcomb with about 40% of the vote.

Braun quickly became the frontrunner in the race, bolstered by several advantages: name recognition, money and former President Donald Trump’s endorsement.

Braun’s running mate, ultra-conservative Christian pastor Micah Beckwith, wasn’t his choice for the lieutenant governor’s post. Braun had endorsed state Rep. Julie McGuire for his running mate when he became the GOP nominee for governor.

While Indiana delegates usually back the nominee’s chosen running mate without a challenge, Beckwith was chosen by party delegates at the state Republican Party convention in June after he had lobbied delegates for a year to win the nomination.

Beckwith, who promotes uncompromising positions on abortion, gender and sexuality, cohosts a “Jesus, Sex and Politics” podcast, has courted controversy with some of his comments.

Republicans have controlled Indiana’s governor’s office since Mitch Daniels defeated the late Democrat Joe Kernan in 2004. And Democrats haven’t won a statewide office in Indiana since 2012, when Glenda Ritz won election as the state’s schools superintendent and Democrat Joe Donnelly won a U.S. Senate seat.

McCormick, then a Republican, defeated Ritz for the schools chief post in 2016 after pledging better relationships with Republican Statehouse leaders following numerous policy clashes between Ritz, then-Gov. Mike Pence and top GOP lawmakers.

But McCormick split from the GOP over education policy and changed her party affiliation to Democrat after her term ended in early 2021.

McCormick’s running mate was Terry Goodin, a Democrat who served in the Indiana House from 2000 to 2020. Those 20 years were marked by conservative votes against key Democratic issues, including abortion and same-sex marriage, but Goodin has apologized for those votes and promised that he’s changed his mind.

Braun and McCormick were joined in the governor’s race by Libertarian Donald Rainwater.

Hoosier voters were also deciding Tuesday the state’s attorney general’s race, choosing between Republican incumbent Todd Rokita and Democrat Destiny Wells. Rokita, a conservative former congressman, is seeking a second term. Wells, a lawyer and Army Reserve lieutenant colonel, ran unsuccessfully for Indiana secretary of state in 2022.

Democrat candidate Jennifer McCormick speaks during a debate for Indiana governor hosted by the Indiana Debate Commission at WFYI, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, Pool)

Republican candidate Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., speaks during a debate for Indiana governor hosted by the Indiana Debate Commission at WFYI, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, Pool)