The Democratic nominee in Colorado's competitive Eighth Congressional District, Manny Rutinel, has sponsored legislation that requires health insurers to cover gender-affirming health care, including sex changes, with no age restrictions. This legislation, which passed the House along party lines and was signed into law, prohibits health insurance companies from denying coverage for gender-affirming care when it's deemed medically necessary and prescribed by a healthcare provider.
Legislative Record
Rutinel's support for this legislation is part of a larger record of advocating for transgender causes. In 2024, he voted to allocate $12 million in taxpayer money for prisoners' transgender healthcare, including sex-change surgeries. He also backed a bill that ordered courts to consider whether a parent uses their child's preferred pronouns when ruling on custody battles.
These actions have drawn attention in a competitive election against Rep. Gabe Evans, which is expected to be among the closest races in the nation and will play a central role in determining which party controls the House. In 2024, President Donald Trump won Colorado's Eighth Congressional District by nearly 2 points after aggressively targeting his opponent, then-vice president Kamala Harris, over her support for taxpayer-funded sex-change surgeries.
Rutinel's record on transgender issues is likely to be a key factor in the election, particularly given the national debate over gender-affirming care for children. The Colorado Department of Agriculture has also been affected by Rutinel's legislative actions, with a bill he cosponsored substituting gender-neutral language for gendered language in the department's governing text.
Rutinel's past as a socialist activist has also been scrutinized, with reports of him publishing blog posts advocating for a more socialistic society and staging protests as a university student. However, he has attempted to distance himself from this past, claiming to support the Eighth Congressional District's ranching and oil industries.