A Democrat House candidate supported taking resources away from law enforcement for so-called “critical social services” and claimed that the “roots” of crime were hunger and expensive housing.
While he once advocated for funding welfare instead of law enforcement, Colorado Democrat Manny Rutinel now says he will boost support for police if elected to Congress.
Rutinel is running against Republican Rep. Gabe Evans, a former police officer, in Colorado’s extremely competitive 8th Congressional district.
Last month, Rutinel unveiled a policy plan seeking to bolster his pro-police credentials. The plan called for investing more money in law enforcement, targeting drug traffickers, and funding local police departments.
That plan contrasted with the tone he struck in July of 2025 when speaking with leftist organizers.
During an interview with the leftist Working Families Party, Rutinel responded “yes” when asked if he believed that “resources should be shifted away from the military, policing, and prisons in order to fund critical social services.”
That policy is consistent with those supported by advocates of defunding the police — but support for the “Defund the Police” movement has become a political liability for Democrats, even in deep blue cities like San Francisco.
The Colorado Democrat did not respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire as to whether he stood by his previous support for shifting money to welfare from law enforcement.
Rutinel’s campaign platform on keeping “communitites safe” says that he
focused on “funding the police” during his time as a state legislature and that he would pursue similar policies if elected to Congress. “Manny believes that funding for police and law enforcement must be a priority, not a political football,” his policy statement says.
In the same interview with the Working Families Party, Rutinel made the dubious claim that crime was primarily motivated by people who couldn’t afford housing, food, or medical services.
“I think what we need to do is be tough on the roots of crime. And what I mean by that is we need to make sure that folks have a great education and fully funded public schools, and we need to make sure that they have wraparound services around that,” he said.
“We need to make sure that we’ve got a great social safety net that means that folks don’t have to decide between crime or affording food or medical assistance for their family or housing,” Rutinel added.
The race for Colorado’s 8th Congressional District is seen as one of the key races that could decide which party controls Congress. Evans, a former police officer, narrowly won the seat in 2024 by less than one percent of the vote. Democrats have targeted the seat as one they would like to pick up.
Rutinel used to run a blog where he claimed that Jesus Christ would support socialism and wrote an essay titled “Why a More Socialistic Society Is Superior.” He has since backtracked from his affiliation with socialism and rebranded as a moderate, drawing the anger of some leftists.
Democrats throughout the country, from Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed to Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, have faced similar criticisms over their past advocacy for defunding the police.
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