Tonty Enmanuel "Manny" Rutinel (born December 20,1994)[2][3] is an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the Colorado House of Representatives for the 32nd district from 2023 to 2026.
Rutinel was born in Los Angeles,California,and raised by a single mother in the Dominican Republic until he was six years old.[4] They returned to the United States and lived in California and Florida. He attended schools in Florida.[5] He stated that he worked at McDonald's while attending high school and regularly gave blood at a plasma center to help support his family.[3]
From 2016 to 2018,Rutinel served as an economist for the United States Army Corps of Engineers in Upstate New York.[7] Rutinel served as a first responder in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.[7] After graduating from law school,he worked as an associate attorney at Earthjustice. Since 2021,Rutinel has worked as the CEO of Climate Refarm,a non-profit organization. Rutinel was introduced to Colorado politics working for Senator John Hickenlooper's campaign in 2020.[8]
In October 2023,he was selected to fill the former seat of Dafna Michaelson Jenet in the Colorado House of Representatives. She had been selected for a vacant state senate seat.[9] Rutinel has led legislative efforts to conduct oversight of ICE detention centers in Colorado.[10]
On January 27,2025,Rutinel announced that he would run for the 2026 U.S. House of Representatives election in Colorado's 8th congressional district,seeking to unseat Republican incumbent Gabe Evans.[11] On September 4,2026,Rutinel resigned from his seat in order to focus on his campaign.[12] The race for Colorado's 8th Congressional District between Rutinel and Evans is the highest spending campaign in Colorado (as of October 2026) for the 2026 elections with about $11 million spent by outside organizations between the June 30 primary and October 2026.[13]
Political positions
Social issues
Rutinel supports tax credits for working parents and higher taxes on billionaires.[14][15][16] Rutinel supports protecting Social Security and Medicare.[14][15][17] Rutinel supports removing the taxable income cap for contributions to social security to continue to fund the program.[14]
Technology and AI
Rutinel supports the regulation of AI,whistleblower protections,and transparency rules for AI models.[18][19][20] Rutinel cosponsored a 2024 bill in the Colorado legislature that attempted to regulate use of AI for corporate discrimination.[20]
Agriculture
Rutinel has publicly raised questions about the production and consumption of meat and dairy products since his time as a student in Florida.[21] In 2016,he posed shirtless on draped in a banner for the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals while a student in Florida.[21][22] In a publication from Yale during his time as a law student,Rutinel is quoted as saying that "the globe must dramatically shift away from animal products and towards fruits,vegetables,legumes,whole grains,and nuts" while citing a study on climate change.[21][23][24][25][22] Rutinel has made comments that his views on agriculture are nuanced and he opposes bad actors but not the industry as a whole.[21][26] Rutinel opposes tariffs put in place by President Donald Trump due to the financial impact on farmers and ranchers.[21]
Climate change
Rutinel was appointed to the Energy and Environment Committee in the Colorado House of Representatives for the 2024-2025 session.[27] Rutinel supports climate action and supports federal tax credits for renewable energy.[28][29] Rutinel formerly supported a ban on fracking but no longer supports this position.[30]
Healthcare
Rutinel opposes high health care costs and supports negotiations to lower pharmaceutical costs.[31][32] He also is in favor of protecting SNAP access. Rutinel supports a public health insurance option.[31][33][34][35][32]
Immigration
Rutinel supports pathways to citizenship for people formerly covered under DACA.[36][37] He also supports citizenship options for immigrants who came to the United States illegally if they have been in the country for many years and been paying taxes.[36][38][37][39] Rutinel opposes the methods used by immigration enforcement in the United States.[38][40][39]
Foreign policy
Rutinel supports U.S. financial support to Ukraine.[41] He supports defending Israel as a US ally.[41][42][43][44] Rutinel supports ending the war in Iran through a war powers resolution.[41][43]
Congressional limitations
Rutinel supports term limits for all public offices.[45] Rutinel also supports a ban on stock trading by members of Congress.[46][47][48] Rutinel supports a ban on former members of Congress working as lobbyists.[48]
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