Colorado Rep. Shannon Bird will resign seat to prioritize run against U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans

State Rep. Shannon Bird will resign from the Colorado legislature next month as she turns her focus to securing the Democratic nomination for a key congressional seat.

Bird, a Westminster Democrat, announced her decision to resign on Sunday. Her last day in the legislature will be Jan. 5, nine days before the 2026 legislative session begins. In a statement posted to social media, Bird thanked her constituents and said she needed to focus on flipping the Republican-held 8th Congressional District.

“Now, Colorado is facing rising headwinds from Washington, with (President Donald) Trump’s tariffs driving up the cost of everything, health care and food assistance being ripped away by (U.S. Rep.) Gabe Evans and his GOP colleagues, and our democratic values under assault,” Bird wrote.

Evans is the Republican who unseated then-Rep. Yadira Caraveo, a Democrat, to represent the 8th District.

Bird had already resigned from the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee. She remains locked in a tight race for the Democratic nomination to challenge Evans, a first-term congressman whose district extends from the northern Denver suburbs to Greeley.

Rep. Manny Rutinel, Bird’s state House colleague, is also vying for the Democratic nomination, as is state Treasurer Dave Young and Marine veteran Evan Munsing.

Rutinel, who entered the race months before Bird, has thus far raised more money than her. He had more than $1 million in the bank as of the end of September, compared to Bird’s $560,000. A lesser-known candidate, Munsing had more than $174,000 on hand by summer’s end. Young is farther behind, with more than $61,000 in the bank.

Bird, who was term-limited from running again in the state House, will be replaced through a Democratic vacancy committee. Her replacement will serve through the November election.

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