Gabe Evans (CO-08) Research Report
Significant Findings
Summary from the report. Click a headline to see its findings.
In 2024, Gabe Evans Made Substance Abuse Issues, Such As Drug Overdoses And Fentanyl, A Central Theme Of His Campaign, But Once Elected To Congress He Voted To Kick 53,000 People In Colorado With Substance-Abuse Disorder Off Their Healthcare
4 findings
- Evans campaigned on tackling the fentanyl crisis and claimed his work as a police officer inspired him to focus on the issue.
- October 10, 2024: An ad from Evans’ campaign said there was “a 100 percent increase in fentanyl deaths” and that his “mission” in Congress was to stop the fentanyl crisis.
- October 23, 2024: An ad from Evans’ campaign said, “record fentanyl overdoses” were “the reality of Colorado today,” but Evans “[knew] how to fix it” because he was a former police officer.
- November 11, 2024: Evans said he was inspired to get involved in politics after witnessing drug overdoses as a police officer.
- January 4, 2025: Evans said ending “the scourge of fentanyl” would be one of his top priorities in Congress.
- Evans voted for the largest Medicaid cut in history, which was projected to kick 53,000 people in Colorado with substance-abuse disorder off their healthcare.
- May 2025 and July 2025: Evans voted twice for the One Big Beautiful Bill.
- The One Big Beautiful Bill cut nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid, which was the largest cut to Medicaid in American history.
- The One Big Beautiful Bill’s Medicaid cuts would have a devastating impact on Coloradans struggling with substance abuse disorders.
- An estimated 53,000 people in Colorado with substance-abuse disorder would lose access to health care coverage because of Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill.
- According to Brookings, the One Big Beautiful Bill was expected to have “a devastating impact on people with substance use disorders by posing significant procedural barriers to Medicaid eligibility.”
- An analysis from the University of Pennsylvania projected Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill would result in 1,000 more overdose deaths over the course of one year.
- Evans was silent as the Trump administration pardoned convicted drug traffickers and gutted funding for crucial substance abuse disorder programs.
- Trump pardoned Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras who helped smuggle at least 400 tons of cocaine into the United States.
- Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the operator of an illegal drug marketplace who was sentenced to life in prison on conspiracy to commit drug trafficking, money laundering, and computer hacking charges.
- The Trump administration proposed restructuring the Department of Health and Humans Services and cutting substance abuse grant programs, which put “essential services for millions of Americans with mental health and substance use disorders at risk.”
- Trump’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposed restructuring the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and reduced their operating budget by $1 billion.
- Trump’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposed cutting $1 billion in funding from Programs of Regional and National Significance (PRNS) grants, which funded state programs focused on mental health, substance use prevention, and substance use treatment.
- Colorado received more than $26 million in PRNS funding in Fiscal Year 2024.
- Trump’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposed consolidating existing mental health and substance use disorder grant programs into one block grant and cutting funding for certain grants by at least 10.4%.
- The proposed cuts in Trump’s budget put “essential services for millions of Americans with mental health and substance use disorders at risk.”
- March 2025: The Trump administration cancelled $11.4 billion in funding for grants that supported addiction recovery programs, mental health services, and other programs.
- Experts warned the funding cuts could trigger substance abuse treatment disruptions and would claw back funds that states used to reduce overdose deaths.
- Allie Eliot, a spokesperson for Colorado's Behavioral Health Administration, said the $250 million in federal cuts would affect as many as 60 programs in Colorado and could put patients at risk.
- A review of Evans’ social media and public statements returned no apparent mentions of Trump’s pardons or proposed funding cuts.
- Investments in substance abuse prevention programs were credited with reducing overdose deaths in the United States.
- Overdose deaths in the United States fell by nearly 25% from 2023 to 2024.
- Experts said continuing and expanding federal funding for overdose prevention effort was the best way to continue to reduce overdoses.
- Brookings noted “any strategy that emphasizes supply reduction to the exclusion of other proven public health approaches to substance use will not decrease overdose deaths and other harms, and in fact, may increase fatality.”
Gabe Evans Voted To Gut Clean Energy Tax Credits, Which Threatened Hundreds Of Millions In Investments In Colorado’s 8th Congressional District
3 findings
- Evans voted for devastating cuts to Colorado’s clean energy sector…
- …And remained silent as the Trump administration terminated $8 billion for clean energy projects, including $33 million in Colorado’s 8th congressional district.
- October 1, 2025: The Trump administration terminated $8 billion in Department of Energy grants for clean energy projects across the United States.
- The cuts cancelled funding for two projects in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, totaling over $33 million.
- The cancelled clean energy grants supported the types of projects Evans’ claimed the United States needed to invest in an “all the above” energy approach.
- Evans said he supported an “all-the-above” energy strategy that included wind and solar.
- Evans said the United States needed to invest in wind and solar projects “for a more resilient, secure America” and infrastructure such as modernized grids to support “affordable, reliable, and secure energy.”
- Tri-State’s $27 million cancelled grant was to help improve electric grid efficiency, capacity, and reliability while integrating renewable resources and managing energy load.
- Union Power’s $6 million DOE grant supported installing solar panels to provide backup power for an aging generator at Fort Lupton’s sewage treatment plant.
- Evans stayed silent on the $33 million in lost funding for his district.
- Despite his votes and actions, Evans has attempted to fashion himself as a clean energy champion and acknowledged the importance of the industry as a “reliable and innovative partner” in his district.
- Evans repeatedly acknowledged the economic impact and importance of the clean energy industry in his district.
- November 2025: Evans said one in two wind generators in the United States were made in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District.
- Evans said Colorado’s 8th Congressional District was home to “some of the largest solar projects in the country.”
- Evans said the wind and solar industries in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District were experiencing “anxiety” due to policy “whiplash.”
- September 2025: Evans said clean energy tax credits “helped fuel Colorado’s economy, creating new jobs, supporting small businesses and large companies alike, and attracting billions of dollars in private sector investment.”
- Evans said “clean energy has quickly risen as a reliable and innovative partner” in energy production.
- May 2025: Evans said, “unleashing American energy dominance means unleashing all forms of energy in a safe, affordable and reliable way” and that Colorado needed “to solidify an all-of-the-above approach,” which included wind and solar.
- Evans repeatedly proclaimed his support for clean energy tax credits during One Big Beautiful Bill negotiations, warning cuts would “jeopardize” investments and increase costs for consumers.
- March 2025: Evans signed a Republican-led letter to the House Ways and Means Committee opposing cuts to clean energy tax credits.
- Evans warned timelines for domestic energy production and infrastructure could be “jeopardized” by cuts to clean energy tax credits.
- Evans said both his constituents and the energy industry were “concerned” about changes to the “nation’s energy tax structure.”
- May 2025: Evans said clean energy tax credits “encourage critical clean energy technologies, create good-paying jobs and enhance U.S. energy security.”
- May 2025: Evans warned that cutting the clean energy tax credits in the One Big Beautiful Bill would lead to higher energy bills for consumers.
- June 2025: After his initial vote to cut clean energy tax credits, Evans signed onto a letter asking Senate Republicans to “mitigate” negative impacts of the One Big Beautiful Bill’s cuts to the energy tax credits.
- Evans repeatedly acknowledged the economic impact and importance of the clean energy industry in his district.
Gabe Evans Praised JBS Leadership And Failed to Reach Out to Workers At Its Greeley Facility As They Fought For Fair Wages And Better Working Conditions
6 findings
- March 2026: Workers at JBS’ Greeley meatpacking plant announced plans to strike over unfair labor practices
- Workers reported that JBS charged them for replacement personal protective equipment, proposed inadequate wage increases, and committed unfair labor practices that prevented a contract agreement.
- Some workers said they were charged $1,100 or more by JBS to replace critical protective gear and offered wage increases as low as 60 cents an hour.
- JBS stopped production at its Greeley facility in anticipation of the strike.
- As of March 4, 2026, Evans failed to reach out to UFCW7 regarding the strike despite representing the district in which the JBS Plant was located.
- Workers at JBS’ Greeley facility voted to strike in the face of looming deportation threats from the Trump administration and raids on other meatpacking facilities.
- The President of UFCW Local 7 estimated 80% to 90% of the workforce at JBS’ Greeley facility was foreign born.
- Latino and immigrant workers feared that voting in the union election could lead to retaliation due to JBS’ close relationship with the Trump administration.
- Immigrant workers at other meatpacking plants around the country faced arrests and deportations.
- Evans repeatedly insisted that immigration enforcement was targeted at only people with criminal backgrounds.
- JBS had history of labor violations, including child labor violations and allegations of human trafficking.
- The Department of Labor determined JBS violated child labor laws when their contractor employed children in dangerous jobs and during overnight shifts at the company’s facilities in multiple states including Colorado.
- In formal complaints, UFCW Local 7 claimed JBS misrepresented work and living conditions while recruiting migrant workers, which constituted human trafficking.
- Evans met with JBS leadership in Washington and praised the company as “vital” to Colorado’s 8th Congressional District’s workforce.
- January 2025: Evans met with JBS CEO Wesley Batista Filho in Washington, D.C.
- April 2025: Evans toured JBS’ beef processing facility and said the company was “vital to our workforce and economy.”
- February 2025: Evans said he was “thrilled” about JBS’ Expansion Project at its Greeley plant and said they were a “vital piece” of Colorado’s 8th Congressional District’s economy.
- Evans’ voted against labor and union protections in Colorado’s state legislature, including bills that strengthened child labor laws and wage violation enforcements
- Evans voted against a bill that expanded legal action to hold a company accountable for breaking child labor laws
- Evans voted against a bill that ensured equal pay for equal work by requiring the director of the Department of Labor and Employment to investigate employer violations of wage inequality.
- Evans voted against a bill that implemented public employees’ workplace protections like the right to discuss workplace issues, join an employee organization, and raise concerns without retaliation.
Gabe Evans Claimed He Would Not Support Harmful Cuts To Medicaid But Then Voted For The Largest Medicaid Cut In History
2 findings
- April 2025: Evans said he opposed Medicaid cuts “that harm Colorado providers or patients.”
- Evans voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill, which triggered the largest Medicaid cut in history.
- May 2025 and July 2025: Evans voted twice for the One Big Beautiful Bill.
- The One Big Beautiful Bill cut $1 trillion from Medicaid, which was the largest cut to Medicaid in American history.
- Less than a month after voting to gut Medicaid, Evans introduced a resolution honoring the 60th anniversary of Medicaid, saying it was “paramount that congress preserve access to” Medicaid and “Republicans are fighting to protect Medicaid.”
- Evans’ vote to gut Medicaid had harmful consequences for Colorado’s 8th Congressional District.
- The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee minority estimated nearly 30,000 people in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District would lose health insurance because of Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill.
- Hospitals in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District were estimated to lose $31,868,432 annually in Medicaid revenue because of Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill.
Gabe Evans Said Affordability Was A Top Priority For Him But Supported Cost-Raising Tariffs
3 findings
- Evans repeatedly said cost of living and affordability was top priorities for him and pledged to factor it into his decision making in Congress.
- Evans voted eight times for Trump’s reckless tariff policy.
- February 2026: Evans voted against terminating Trump’s tariffs, after voting repeatedly to delay a vote on the issue.
- February 2026: Evans voted for providing consideration of the Law-Enforcement Innovate to De-Escalate Act, the Undersea Cable Protection Act, the Securing America’s Critical Minerals Supply Act, and blocking consideration of joint resolutions terminating Trump’s tariff.
- February 2026: Evans voted for blocking consideration of the Law-Enforcement Innovate to De-Escalate Act, the Undersea Cable Protection Act, and the Securing America’s Critical Minerals Supply Act.
- September 2025: House Republicans voted to block Congress from challenging Trump’s tariffs through March 2026.
- April 2025: Evans voted to block Congress from challenging Trump’s tariffs through September 2025.
- April 2025: Evans voted for blocking consideration of an amendment striking a section of the rule that would prevent the House from voting on Trump’s tariffs.
- April 2025: Evans voted for blocking consideration of a joint resolution to terminate Trump’s tariffs.
- March 2025: House Republicans voted to block Congress from challenging Trump’s tariffs for the rest of the year.
- April 2025: Evans defended Trump’s tariff policy, saying “I'm a big believer in free trade, but free trade has to be fair trade as well.”
- Trump’s tariffs were predicted to increase costs for Coloradans and trigger higher inflation.
- The estimated effective tariff rate in Colorado increased from 3% in 2024 to 21% in 2025 under Trump’s tariff policy.
- Tariffs on durable goods, such as automobiles and household appliances, were expected to cause up to $600 million in additional costs to Colorado consumers.
- Inflation was predicted to increase in 2026 as a result of Trump’s tariff policy.
Gabe Evans Promised To “Tackle” Reckless Spending, But Voted To Add $3 Trillion To The National Deficit
2 findings
- Evans supported a balanced budget amendment and warned of “the always-growing national debt.”
- September 2023: Evans said he would “tackle the tough challenges facing America: reckless spending and runaway inflation” if elected to Congress.
- October 2024: Evans supported a balanced budget amendment.
- Evans said “our country is spending money we don’t have, leading to inflation and the always-growing national debt.”
- Evans voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill, which added $3.4 trillion to the national deficit.
Gabe Evans Misrepresented His Grandfather’s Immigration Story, Falsely Claiming He Immigrated To The United States “The Right Way” And “The Legal Way”
5 findings
- 40.2% of the population in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District identified as Hispanic or Latino.
- Evans claimed immigrants needed to come to the United States “the right way” like his grandfather did.
- Evans repeatedly misstated details of his grandfather’s immigration story.
- Evans said his grandfather immigrated from Mexico in “search of a safer place to raise a family and chase the American dream,” despite arriving when he was only five years old.
- Evans claimed his grandfather became a citizen in 1943 while serving in the Army, but immigration records indicated he was granted citizenship in 1946 under a 1944 law that eliminated proof of lawful entry as a requirement for naturalization.
- Evans claimed it took his grandfather 13 years to receive U.S. citizenship, but immigration records indicated Evans’ grandfather applied once for citizenship in 1946 and was granted citizenship the same year.
- Jennifer Chavez, Evans’ maternal aunt, said Evans’ rhetoric around immigration “would have pissed my dad off.”
- Evans supported immigration policies that would have resulted in his grandfather’s deportation.
- Immigration documents indicated Evans’ grandfather was arrested for attempted burglary at 16.
- Evans said he “strongly” supported “immediate deportation for criminals or freeloaders.”
- Evans said, “we have to aggressively target those individuals who are illegally in our communities, committing crimes, and those are the folks that we have to deport.”
- Evans supported the Laken Riley Act, which allowed for the detention of undocumented immigrants arrested for a burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting offense.
Gabe Evans Claimed His Mother “Thought The Best Life Had To Offer Was A Dirt Floor Hut In Juarez, Mexico” Even Though She Was Born In The United States And Grew Up In El Paso, Texas
3 findings
- Evans claimed his mother, Rebecca Chavez, “thought the best life had to offer was a dirt floor hut in Juarez, Mexico” at least 10 times.
- Evans’ maternal aunt said the claim was “just totally delusional” and noted they were raised in El Paso, Texas.
- Evans’ maternal aunt said the story was “a fabrication made up, in my opinion, purposely to play on the emotions of the Hispanic voters in his district.”
Gabe Evans Inflated His Rancher Credentials, Possibly In An Attempt To Appeal To Voters In One Of Colorado’s Largest Agricultural Districts
4 findings
- Colorado’s 8th Congressional District ranked second in the state for livestock, poultry, and products sales, with Weld County, CO, being a top agricultural county in the United States.
- Evans said he knew “the challenges farmers face” as “someone who operates a small family farm.”
- Since 2023, the tax savings Evans received from his property’s agricultural tax designation were reportedly almost double the income he reported from ranching and beef production.
- Evans’ home in Weld County received an agricultural tax designation, which entitled him to “ongoing tax breaks.”
- 2023-2025: Evans saved an estimated $3,000 from agricultural tax breaks on his property.
- Since 2023, Evans reported less than $2,100 in income from “farm profits.”
- Evans reported on federal personal financial disclosures that he earned $345 in farm profits in 2025.
- Evans reported on federal personal financial disclosures that he earned $1,709 in farm profits in 2024.
- Evans likely earned less than $200 in farm profits based on federal personal financial Disclosures in 2023.
- In 2025, Evans said he had “to build a fence for the cows this summer” despite reportedly not having cattle on his property.
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