Another Democrat is jumping into the crowded fray that is the race for the 8th Congressional District.
Later today, Amie Baca-Oehlert is expected to announce her candidacy for the state’s toss-up seat, currently held by GOP Rep. Gabe Evans.
Baca-Oehlert has never held elected office, but was the head of the Colorado Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union, from 2018-2024. She also worked as a teacher and counselor at Adams City High School and Northglenn High School.
She’s holding a kickoff event in Commerce City with supporters, including Adams County Commissioner Emma Pinter, former state Rep. Joe Salazar and former state Rep. Judy Solano.
Baca-Oehlert enters a crowded field. Earlier this week, State Treasurer Dave Young announced his entry into the race. Two state legislators, Shannon Bird and Manny Rutinel, are also running for the seat, as is its former occupant, Yadira Caraveo.
The state’s newest district was designed to be competitive and it’s lived up to that. Both Caraveo and Evans won the seat by less than a percent, and with less than 50 percent of the total vote.
It has also been a costly race in both cycles, with tens of millions of dollars invested by both major parties and outside groups to win the seat, a high-stakes effort with control of the House at stake.
While Republicans have criticized the growing number of candidates in the Democratic primary, others say it’s a sign that Democrats believe Evans’ seat can be flipped and are eager to find the best candidate to try.
Baca-Oehlert, whose background is as a high school counselor, served six years as president of the Colorado Education Association from 2018 to 2024, guiding the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic and years of state underfunding of public schools. CEA is the state’s largest teachers’ union, representing nearly 40,000 teachers and educator support staff.
Baca-Oehlert was a popular leader among educators, advocating passionately for more funding for schools, better mental health services for students, and gun reforms. She also placed the issue of teacher burnout and educator shortages front and center, arguing for improved working conditions, higher pay for teachers and more state programs to help teacher candidates become licensed educators.
After a 14-year time span during which state lawmakers withheld $10 billion that the state constitution dictated should be spent on public schools, Baca-Oehlert played a role in legislative discussions that finally led to the elimination of the yearly funding shortfall for public schools last year. During contentious hearings to revise the state’s social studies standards, she testified for more inclusive standards that reflect the diversity of Colorado’s student body. During the latter part of her tenure, she criticized the increasing politicization of school board elections following the pandemic.
