Colorado's Swing Seat: National Control Hangs in the Balance | Two Joes with Guest Shannon Bird

From her grandmother's blackjack table in Reno to Colorado's budget committee rooms, Shannon Bird's journey to the congressional primary ballot reflects the political tensions defining America's most competitive districts. Colorado has one true swing seat: the 8th Congressional District. The state's newest congressional seat is located in the northern Denver suburbs of Adams County and stretches north to the city of Greeley, in Weld County. Based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is EVEN. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were about the same as the national average.

Bird faces a crowded Democratic field that includes state Rep. Manny Rutinel of Commerce City and political outsider Evan Munsing, as they compete to take on Republican Gabe Evans, who flipped the seat by 2,500 votes in 2024. He's been called the most vulnerable House incumbent in the country by national election forecasters, and both major parties put the district near the top of their target lists. This race could be one of a handful that decides which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives, with Republicans currently holding a 218-214 majority with three vacancies in the chamber. Bird's legislative record on budget matters and bipartisan dealmaking will face scrutiny in a district where the previous race was one of the most expensive House races in 2024.