Yadira Caraveo says she “hit a wall” during unsuccessful reelection campaign when staff were frightened, traumatized ...Middle East

U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo opened up at a panel discussion Thursday evening about her mental health struggles and allegations from former staffers that she created a traumatizing work environment on her unsuccessful campaign for reelection last year, saying she “hit a wall.”

The event was Caraveo’s first public appearance since The Colorado Sun published a story on May 1 about how her behavior was so frightening to members of her staff that they proposed a safety plan and asked that sharp objects be removed from the Thornton Democrat’s offices.

The Sun published the story after Caraveo announced a few weeks earlier that she would run again for the 8th Congressional District seat.

Caraveo called the story “salacious” and said she doesn’t agree with parts of the reporting about the safety plan, but did not elaborate. She said she had ignored her mental health for decades and hit a wall while she was working as a congresswoman, “one of the hardest jobs in the United States.”

She compared her suicidal thoughts to drowning, saying she pulled those who came to rescue her underwater. She advocated for better understanding of depression and anxiety and more awareness to recognize when someone is struggling. 

“Nobody recognized that in me, it was not until I tried to kill myself that the people were like, ‘Whoa, you’re really depressed,’” she said.

The panel, organized by the The Back From Broken Foundation and held at the Eisenhower Chapel in the Lowry neighborhood, focused on addiction, mental health and recovery. The foundation is a new venture by former Colorado Public Radio journalist Vic Vela, who produced a podcast series of the same name centered on his addiction and recovery. 

The Sun story about Caraveo’s turbulent congressional tenure and campaign was based on nearly a year of reporting and conversations with more than 20 people, including interviews with four former Caraveo aides, as well as documents and audio recordings from first responders obtained by The Sun, both through public records requests and from a law enforcement source.

The former staffers, who spoke to The Sun on the condition of anonymity, said they felt mistreated and taken advantage of by the congresswoman, especially when her mental health issues led to a pair of suicide attempts last year.

Caraveo acknowledged the impact on her staff.

“It affects other people, and so if we’re going to truly be supportive of mental health, we have to realize that when you’re in a really bad spot, you’re not going to act normally,” she said. “It’s not going to be pleasant for people, but that’s part of actually being supportive of people with mental health.”

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Caraveo had the highest rate of staff turnover among Colorado’s congressional delegation, and among the highest rates in Congress, during her single term, according to a Colorado Sun analysis. 

The allegations of staff mistreatment, paired with Caraveo’s mental health struggles, prompted top Democrats to encourage Caraveo not to run for Congress again in the 8th District after narrowly losing her reelection bid to Republican Gabe Evans in November. 

Caraveo lost to Evans by about 2,500 votes, or less than a percentage point, in a race in which about $40 million was spent. The loss helped give the GOP a narrow majority in the U.S. House. 

Caraveo is one of five Democrats seeking to unseat Evans next year. The others include state Reps. Manny Rutinel of Commerce City and Shannon Bird of Westminster, as well as Colorado Treasurer Dave Young and Amie Baca-Oehlert, the former president of the Colorado Education Association.

More Democrats may jump into the race before the primary in June 2026.

On Thursday, Caraveo said she’s up to the challenge.

“I’m in the best state in terms of my mental health that I’ve been since high school, probably,” she said. “I’m definitely ready for this . . . If I could do it when I was struggling with depression and anxiety, who knows now?”

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