“All Hat and No Cattle:” Gabe Evans Under Scrutiny For Questionable Claims of Being A Rancher

Despite admitting to raising only “two or three cows a year,” Gabe Evans regularly touts himself as a rancher who can relate to producers who are “feeding the world.”

Evans’ own peer, whose ranch produced dozens of calves in 2024 and is now boarding all three of Evans’ animals on his behalf, says he would never “be so arrogant” as to describe himself to be a rancher.

The same can’t be said for fraudster Gabe Evans, who – despite not having any actual cattle on his land – continues to enjoy a tax break meant for ranchers and farmers.

DCCC Spokesperson Lindsay Reilly:
“There’s a big difference between Colorado ranchers who’ve dedicated their lives to working their land, and a politician who takes photos with a cowboy hat for his campaign websites. Gabe Evans is a total fraud, and his laughable claims prove just how out of touch he really is.”

In case you missed it…

Colorado Times Recorder: ‘All Hat No Cattle’? Congressman Raises a ‘Few Cows’ As a Hobby, And Says It’s Legitimate To Promote Himself in Politics As a ‘Rancher’

• “As a beef producer myself, I have the backs of our farmers and ranchers who are feeding the world,” says Evans on the website, which pictures the congressman in a black cowboy hat face-to-face with a longhorn cow.
• Asked last year by El Commercio to talk about his “hobbies,” Evans brought up his longhorns… “I don’t have a lot of land. I can raise like two or three cows a year, but I really like Longhorn cattle.”
• Agriculture is a key industry in Evans’ district. It’s the 21st highest cattle-producing congressional district in the country… the average farm there sells $721,000 worth of agricultural products.
• After Evans was elected to Congress, he put his cattle under the care of Chuck Hughes… Hughes said he’s “boarding” three animals for Evans — a cow, heifer, and a young bull calf.
• Hughes described his own agricultural operation as a “small ranch.” According to the ranch’s Facebook page, its cows produced at least 43 calves in 2024. “I’m a wannabe rancher,” Hughes said. “I would not be so arrogant to say that I’m a rancher.”
• Despite giving up the cattle to Hughes, Evans still promotes himself as a rancher on his websites and social media.
• Former U.S. Rep. John Salazar had about 500 head of cattle when he was elected to Congress in 2004, he told the Colorado Times Recorder last week.
• “He’s probably a hobby rancher,” said Salazar of Evans. “He doesn’t use that to make a living. All hat and no cattle.”
• Evans’ first two federal financial disclosure forms, filed as a congressional candidate in 2023 and 2024, list no income whatsoever from ranching or farming. His most recent form, filed last week and not yet available to the public, discloses $1,100, according to his office.
• Evans’ property in Weld County is designated as “agricultural,” which entitles the congressman ongoing tax breaks.
• Now that he has no cattle on his land, and he’s claiming on two of his three federal financial disclosures not to make any money from ranching or farming, will Evans continue to take the agricultural land tax break?

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