Democrat Amie Baca-Oehlert, the former head of Colorado’s largest teachers union, ended her bid to represent the state’s 8th Congressional District on Friday, citing fundraising struggles and calling politics a “broken system.”
“Running for Congress requires a large amount of financial support which favors candidates not from working class backgrounds but those with connections to wealthy donors and with ties to corporations and special interests,” Baca-Oehlert wrote in a text message to The Colorado Sun. “We were not that kind of campaign and, therefore, fundraising was a challenge that forced us to make the difficult decision to end the campaign.”
Baca-Oehlert, who was president of the Colorado Education Association for two terms from 2018 to 2024, announced her decision to drop out of the race through a Facebook post Friday afternoon.
Baca-Oehlert, who jumped into the race in June, was one of a handful of Democrats running in the highly competitive 8th District next year to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans. She was at the bottom of the pack in the crowded Democratic primary in terms of fundraising.
State Rep. Manny Rutinel, D-Commerce City, started October with $1 million in cash on hand and was the clear campaign finance leader. State Rep. Shannon Bird, D-Westminster, had about $560,000 and was in second place.
Baca-Oehlert, who lives in Thornton, had about $50,000.
As Democrats duke it out in the 8th District, Evans keeps increasing his financial war chest. It was at nearly $2 million to start October.
Baca-Oehlert, who was endorsed by the Working Families Party, a liberal group that often backs Democrats, told The Sun she is not throwing her support behind a Democratic candidate in the 8th District race right now.
The Democratic primary in the 8th District, which spans Denver’s northern suburbs along U.S. 85 into Greeley, will be held in June.
Staff writer Jesse Paul contributed to this report.