April 16, 2025 02:04 PM UTC

The Triumph And The Trouble With Yadira Caraveo

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• by: Colorado Pols

As Colorado Public Radio’s Caitlyn Kim reports, narrowly defeated former Rep. Yadira Caraveo is coming back for a rematch against vulnerable incumbent Rep. Gabe Evans in Colorado’s ultra-competitive CO-08 race, where hard questions about Caraveo’s record in Congress and, regrettably but inevitably, her personal struggle with mental illness while in office during her first term await:

Caraveo was the first Latina elected from Colorado when she won her seat in 2022 in the newly created 8th Congressional District. It was drawn to be the state’s only true swing district, and also has the largest Hispanic population of any of the state’s congressional districts. Caraveo’s parents immigrated from Mexico, as did Evans’ maternal grandparents.

Caraveo broke with her party on some bills dealing with energy and on a resolution to condemn former Vice President Kamala Harris and the Biden Administration for their border policy, after Harris became the party’s nominee for president.

She has also talked publicly about her mental health struggles during her first term, which included to two trips to the emergency room before she sought in-person help at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. Caraveo did not disclose that information until months afterward…

Last month, Rep. Caraveo spoke with CPR’s Kim at length about the depression she suffered from during her first term, which led to emergency care–personal details we would not be discussing in this space had Caraveo herself not disclosed them. It’s very important to not denigrate people who have suffered from what Caraveo went through, or to consider treated past mental illness to be disqualifying for future service. In fact, poeple who survive and triumph over such conditions in their lives often possess valuable insight that can help others. As Ernest Luning reported for the Colorado Springs Gazette’s political blog:

Caraveo acknowledged that revealing more about her struggles with depression could become a campaign issue but said she believes it’s important to be candid about mental health.

“That’s exactly why I’m speaking out, so that I can be one more little chip on that wall of trying to take down the stereotypes and the stigma that exists around mental health care,” Caraveo told CPR.. “Even getting down into details that I feel uncomfortable sharing around suicidality and how dark things got.” [Pols emphasis]

The only thing that we can do in response to that kind of bravery is honor it. Suicide ends the lives of 50,000 Americans every year, and is one of the leading causes of death among younger Americans. Anyone working to reduce that toll is doing something good in the world.

Unfortunately for Rep. Caraveo, today’s politics often fail to reward personal bravery on complicated subjects. At some point in this campaign, lurid details about the specific incidents in question are likely to surface and be unethically misused, if not by opponents than by third parties in this nationally-prominent race. If Rep. Caraveo is willing to endure this mistreatment, that’s one thing–but it’s not something we’d oblige her to do for her own sake. We sincerely hope that Caraveo’s attempted rematch is judged on the issues, not this delicate and easily-abused personal matter.

With that said, 9NEWS’ Kyle Clark explains why it’s the issues that could trip up Caraveo in a Democratic primary:

Caraveo pivoted to the center upon being elected to Congress, occasionally siding with Republicans in perplexing and unexplained ways.

In 2021, Caraveo called for defunding ICE. In 2024, Caraveo voted with Republicans on a symbolic measure condemning then Vice President Kamala Harris for her handling of border issues…

In a 9NEWS debate against Evans in 2022, Caraveo said her shift toward Republican positions on immigration was an attempt to vote the values of her district as opposed to her own values. Caraveo ducked questions about her own views on a number of immigration-related issues.

“The country has changed,” Caraveo said.

In her waning days in Congress after her re-election loss, Caraveo continued to break with her party and vote for Republican priorities without explanation.

During her single term in Congress and seemingly accellerating following her narrow loss last November to Gabe Evans, Rep. Caraveo cast a number of votes that infuriated progressive activists in her district, and sometimes confounded journalists trying to establish a consistent philosophy behind those votes–not to mention Democrats who despite these maddeningly contrary votes were fully invested in keeping Caraveo in Congress. Today, Caraveo says that Trump is taking the country in the wrong direction, but that wasn’t what her votes said last year, including her especially galling vote to “condemn” Kamala Harris right after Harris got into the presidential race.

In summary, Democrats shouldn’t dismiss Caraveo’s candidacy out of hand, certainly not over medical struggles that, since they were not fatal, have made Caraveo personally stronger. But is Caraveo the best choice for Democratic primary voters who want a candidate who will fight as hard against the Trump administration as Gabe Evans is fighting for it?

The answer to that question is much less clear.