in Fort Lupton, Colorado Voters steadily streamed into the Fort Lupton, Colorado, polling location where Gabe Evans, the Republican congressman, lives. Even more cars and pickup trucks lined up for the drive-through ballot drop-off box outside the polling location. “People are really coming out to vote,” the poll worker said. This district in central Colorado is one of the country’s congressional battleground sites. It’s spans the outskirts of Denver up north to rural agricultural and prairie land. Evans has held the seat since 2024 and is up against democratic challenger Manny Rutinel. Evans has worked as a police officer, served in the US Army as a helicopter pilot and was a state representative. Rutinel was also a state representative and served in the US Army Corps of Engineers. While the two top candidates have career similarities and are both young and Latino, they sharply differ on campaign issues. Evans has centered his campaign on fighting crime, the cost of living and the ris