EXCLUSIVE: Campaign finance head for animal activist Colorado Dem Manny Rutinel wants to eliminate beef, poultry, pork industries

The deputy campaign finance director for Colorado Democrat candidate Manny Rutinel admitted that he himself voted for Democratic Socialist of America candidate Milat Kiros and said that that the Democrat in the swing district has to "toe a much more careful line" on messaging. He also stumped for "Transfarmation" or the project to destroy animal agriculture and replace it with plant-based foods.  

In undercover video obtained by The Post Millennial, Rutinel campaign finance director, Sam Cheever, told the undercover journalist that he "voted for" Kiros since he lives in her district.    

The journalist asked, "What's going on with the Democratic Socialists and all that?"    

Cheever responded, "Oh Melat [Kiros]? We saw her the other day. Yeah, I always love seeing her, she's great. That's my personal opinion."   

"You like her and her stuff?" the journalist asked.    

"I voted for her, because I live down in that district," Cheever added. He later said that "there is fear, you know, we don't want to be lumped in with [DSA]."    

Speaking about what Republicans may do to attack Rutinel, who has been campaigning as a moderate, he said, "I think there's an attack that the Republicans are going to try and lobby that's like, 'Manny's a socialist.'" Making light of what that would mean for Rutinel as a candidate, Cheever added, "And it's like why do we care about that image first of all?"    

He later added, "I think Manny has to play a much more like—toe a much more careful line than she [Kiros] has to."    

The journalist asked, "Why?"   

"When we look at this swing district- she could say literally anything right now 'cause she's going to get elected in November, right? Whereas we still have a number of attack ads that are being run against Manny ... If we start taking more controversial stances publicly, you know what I mean?"   

In a different part of the conversation, Cheever talked about his desire for "transfarmation" and complained that there were too many cows being driven on highways in the district.  
  

"I don't know if you have ever heard of Transfarmation," Cheever said to the undercover journalist. Transfarmation is a nonprofit organization that claims to transition farmers away from producing beef, poultry, pork, or other meats. "Their model is taking folks who do animal ag and helping them switch over to like produce."   

"What does that look like though?" the journalist asked.    

"So they will take the houses the barns where you've got all the chickens. Clear that out and not you have an big space—an indoor space that you can convert to an indoor growing space" for vegetables.  He said that the organization is thinking of how to "reuse the space that in some ways would be more productive."   

"Is that something like, you think could work for Colorado?" the journalist asked.   

Cheever softly responded, "Oh, I think it could. I'm a fan of them. But also, how do you convince someone? What are those conversations?"  

He then blamed the "corporations" for why there are not more plant-based produce operations in Colorado and that the "problems with animal ag is the companies."  Earlier reporting from The Daily Wire has also revealed that the campaign has tried to downplay Rutinel's veganism.  
 
“[Rutinel], very similarly to, I think a lot of folks these days, recognizes that it’s… you look at the environmental harm… you look at just how much we’re consuming,” he said. “You don’t have to eat meat to survive.” 
 
“The official campaign line is that people care more about what’s on their plate than on his,” Cheever added. The campaign finance staffer does not eat any meat.  

Notably, the 8th district in Colorado is the leading producer for beef cattle and cattle in the state, and represents 25 percent of the state's output. 75 percent of its acreage is devoted to farming and livestock. Rutinel has a long track record of vegan activism, but now claims that he eats meat more regularly and claims to have rethought his positions surrounding ranching. 

The Democrat is running against incumbent GOP Rep. Gabe Evans in Colorado's 8th Congressional District. Evans was elected to office in 2024.