Manny Rutinel is the Colorado Democrat running in the 8th district. He’s also another candidate with some unusual social media posts. No, it’s nowhere near as extreme as Graham Platner, who is on a different level with posts about masturbating in port-a-potties, among other things, but it’s worth noting that Rutinel deleted these Reddit posts, likely because they could damage the local economy. They were a form of advocacy for vegan authoritarianism, which is not something ranchers want to hear (via Colorado Sun):
🚨NEW
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 23, 2026
Democrat Manny Rutinel - running in a district home to Colorado's farmers - said animals should equal rights as humans and called to take away cattle from ranchers. pic.twitter.com/Y2XNJOiotQ
UNEARTHED:
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 23, 2026
Democrat Congressional candidate Manny Rutinel — who is running to represent one of the largest ranching districts in the country — thinks that we should adopt an "r/vegan" lifestyle in deleted reddit posts. pic.twitter.com/jDYvQOxrop
🚨 UNEARTHED
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 9, 2026
Colorado Democrat Manny Rutinel — who is running in one of America’s top agriculture-producing counties — says "the globe must dramatically shift away from animal products" and rely on nuts and berries. pic.twitter.com/wIaMgIMihU
.@ScottJenningsKY on Colorado Dem Manny Rutinel:
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 23, 2026
"He’s an anti-agriculture Democrat running in one of the biggest agriculture districts in the country....Rutinel says 'You know what I’m going to run on? We’re going to give up meat and instead you should eat nuts and berries.'" pic.twitter.com/E8E8qNMcnJ
State Rep. Manny Rutinel, in since-deleted posts made nearly a decade ago on the social media site Reddit, voiced support for a movement that aims to put animals on the same legal footing as humans and in turn prohibit their slaughter for food and other uses.
Rutinel, a Democrat running to represent Colorado’s toss-up 8th Congressional District, envisioned a future in which so-called animal liberation legislation would be adopted.
“Veganism will grow at a gradual pace, farmers will produce fewer farm animals to meet the decreased demand,” he posted in 2017. “The fewer animals that are left living by the time an animal liberation amendment arrives will spend the remainder of their lives happily in either an animal sanctuary or be kept as a pet.”
[…]
His changing views on meat could be politically helpful: The 8th District, which spans Denver’s northeast suburbs into Greeley, is arguably Colorado’s agricultural capital.
It’s filled with ranches, feedlots and dairy farms, which generated about $1.2 billion in animal products in 2022. The district is also home to a JBS meatpacking facility in Greeley, one of the nation’s largest beef slaughterhouses.
[…]
Here are some of the animal rights remarks Rutinel made on Reddit:
- “Can’t we all just adopt a r/vegan lifestyle already? Why can’t we see how horribly future generations will see what we do to innocent animals?”
- “I gave up animal flesh 8 years ago at the age of 14 when I truly made the connection of the horrific reality that our meat comes from tortured and slaughtered innocent animals.”
- He encouraged people to feed their dogs a vegan diet. “If you would like to reduce suffering even more, then please consider looking into vegan dog food as well. Making vegan dog food can save you a considerable amount of money in the long run. Dogs are omnivores and can live long and happy lives by just eating plant foods.”
- He posted that after animal liberation legislation is passed, all remaining agricultural animals “will be taken to sanctuaries.”
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Rutinel said his views have changed. He got tripped up during the debates before the primaries, where he was pressed on his support for single-payer healthcare. It wasn’t pretty.
Manny Rutinel refuses to answer if he backs universal single-payer health system.
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 9, 2026
Q: That’s a lot of words… none of them answer the question.
RUTINEL: We need to look for actionable solutions.
Q: What should voters think?
RUTINEL: We need to look for actionable solutions. pic.twitter.com/1SEit6yCK8
It’s not hard, folks: don’t trust leftists.
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