Manny Rutinel

Manny Rutinel is a Democratic candidate for Colorado's 8th District. He is an attorney and former Army Corps of Engineers economist who served in the Colorado House of Representatives from 2023 until resigning in September 2026 to focus on the congressional race. His campaign materials emphasize lowering costs, taking on corruption, and supporting working families.[1][2][3]

According to Wikipedia, Rutinel was born in Los Angeles and raised by a single mother in the Dominican Republic until age six, then in California and Florida. His campaign website says he grew up in a working-class family that relied on food stamps and Medicaid and that he worked at McDonald's through high school.[2][3] He earned an associate degree from Pasco-Hernando State College, a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida (2016), a master's degree in applied economics from Johns Hopkins University (2018), and a J.D. from Yale Law School (2022).[1][3]

Rutinel worked as an economist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 2016 to 2018 and, according to his campaign website, served as a first responder in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.[2][3] After law school he worked as an associate attorney at Earthjustice, according to Wikipedia. Since 2021 he has been chief executive officer of Climate Refarm, a nonprofit.[1][3]

An Adams County Democratic vacancy committee appointed Rutinel to the Colorado House of Representatives, District 32, in October 2023 to replace Dafna Michaelson Jenet, who had been selected for a state Senate vacancy. He won the seat in 2024.[1][3] He announced his run for Congress on January 27, 2025, and left the state House on September 4, 2026 to focus on the campaign. In his Ballotpedia survey he said he had sponsored over a dozen bills and cosponsored over 400.[1][3]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.