Colorado Republican Party

Colorado Republican Party
Chairperson	Dave Williams
Senate Leader	Paul Lundeen
House Leader	Rose Pugliese
Headquarters	Greenwood Village, Colorado
Membership (2024)	936,583[1]
Ideology	Conservatism Trumpism Anti-LGBTIQA+[2][3] Factions: LGBTIQA+-affirming[4]
Political position	Right-wing to far-right[5][6]
National affiliation	Republican Party
Colors	Red
U.S. Senate	0 / 2
U.S. House	3 / 8
Statewide offices	0 / 5
Colorado Senate	12 / 35
Colorado House of Representatives	19 / 65
Colorado State Board of Education	3 / 9
University of Colorado Board of Regents	4 / 9
Election symbol
Website
www.cologop.org
Politics of United States Political parties Elections

The Colorado Republican Party is the state affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Colorado. The party's headquarters is located in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

The Republican Party was dominant in the state as recently as the mid-2000s, however it has declined over the subsequent decades. After the 2020 elections, Republicans held the smallest amount of political power in the state government since World War II. This decline has been attributed to various factors, including the party moving too far right for the state, changing demographics, mismanaged campaign money, internal party divisions, a better organized Democratic Party, and the unpopularity of Donald Trump in the state.^[7]

The party fared even poorer in the 2022 elections, in which Democrats swept every statewide office by a double-digit margin, expanded their majority in the state's U.S. House delegation, and further expanded their supermajorities in both chambers of the legislature.^[8] Since 2023, the party has faced further revenue loss and party infighting, with the party veering further towards the far-right after the election of Dave Williams as party chair, and an overall further decline of influence in the state.^[9][10]

This article appears to be slanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective and add more content related to non-recent events. (June 2024)

Since 2016, the Colorado GOP has shifted more rightward in their political positions and have subsequently embraced Trumpism and far-right ideologies.^[11][12][13] Starting in the early 2010s, active voter registrations with the Colorado GOP has seen a decline and fell behind the Democratic Party in 2016.^[14] In the 2018 elections, Republicans lost much power in the state, suffering significant losses in the aftermath of the election.^[14] After the 2020 Colorado elections, Republicans lost even more influence within the state, holding the smallest amount of political power in the state government since World War II.^[7]

Since Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, elements of the Colorado GOP and its voter base have espoused support for Trump's false claims of election fraud.^[15][16][13] While top Colorado Republicans have defended Colorado's local elections, they have cast doubt on the validity of the election results in other states or stayed silent on Trump's allegations of fraud.^[17] On December 7, 2020, a group of Republicans requested to the Speaker of the House KC Becker that a committee be formed on "election integrity" to conduct an audit of the Dominion Voting Systems used in Colorado in spite of no evidence of issues. The request was rejected, with Becker criticizing it as "a dangerous stunt" and a promotion of "debunked conspiracy theories."^[18][19]

Also in December, Colorado congressional Republicans supported a lawsuit aimed to overturn the election results.^[20] On January 6, 2021, congressional Republicans from Colorado objected to certification of the results, with Lauren Boebert and Doug Lamborn objecting to certification of the results.^[21][22]

The party performed poorly in the 2022 elections; Democrats won every statewide office by double digits, expanded their numbers in the state's U.S. House delegation, and further expanded their majorities in both chambers of the legislature.^[8] In the aftermath of the heavily lopsided results, Republican state representative Colin Larson lamented that "Colorado Republicans need to take this and learn the lesson that the party is dead. This was an extinction-level event."^[8]

In 2023, former state representative Dave Williams was elected to chair the state's Republican Party; he has been noted for promoting false claims of election fraud.^[6][23] Since 2023, the party has faced a significant loss of funding, an increase in infighting and party division, controversial leadership, the party veering further to the right, and a further decrease of influence within the state.^{[24][9][10][25]}

In 2024, USA Today reported that Republicans in the state consistently voted against certifying local elections, often due to election denialism and false claims of fraud.^[26]

In 2024, the Colorado Republican Party called on parents to remove their children from public schools in Colorado, arguing that the schools "turn more kids trans.”^[27] At the beginning of Pride Month, the party referred to LGBT people as groomers, made reference to the infamous Westboro Baptist Church slogan "God hates fags", and called for the burning of all pride flags.

The mailer and social media posts provoked widespread bipartisan condemnation, and triggered a crisis within the Colorado GOP. Log Cabin Republican Valdamar Archuleta renounced the party's endorsement of him in the Colorado's 1st congressional district election as a result.^[2] Aurora city counsellor Curtis Gardner renounced his affiliation with the Colorado GOP, saying that their rhetoric on LGBTQ issues demonstrated that "[the party] no longer stands for the issues that I care about - individual rights, fiscal responsibility, restraint of government, limited foreign intervention, and encouraging economic mobility."^[28][29] The Jefferson County Republican Party, speaking on behalf of “numerous Colorado Republican County Chairs, other county party officers, members of the Colorado State Central Committee in all 64 Counties, and many Republican candidates” called for Dave Williams to resign immediately.^[4]

The leadership of the Colorado GOP has so far stood by its actions. The state vice-chair responded to a request for an interview with the Colorado State GOP chairman with the following:

We make no apologies for standing against pride month as it's a destructive agenda that harms children and undermines parental authority and if certain weak Republicans like [Jefferson County GOP chairwoman] Nancy Pallozzi want to side with a movement that promotes transgender chemical castration and genital mutilation then we look forward to notifying their base membership of that disgraceful act.

— Colorado Republican Party vice-chair Hope Scheppelman, ^[30]

Dave Williams lost the primary election for Colorado's 5th congressional district to Republican Jeff Crank. This race was characterized as a "battle" for the "soul" of the GOP in Colorado,^[31][32] with Williams representing the far-right, election-denying side of the party, and Crank representing the a more traditional conservative version of the party. On August 24, 2024, Williams was removed as Colorado Republican Party chairman during a meeting in Brighton, Colorado.^[33] On September 26, 2024, El Paso County Judge Eric Bentley ruled that the August 24, 2024 meeting was illegitimate and the vote to remove Williams as chairman was voided. ^[34]

After the 2022 Colorado elections, the Colorado Republican Party controls none of the statewide offices and holds minorities in the Colorado Senate and House of Representatives. Republicans currently hold a 3-5 minority in the state's U.S. House delegation.

• None

Both of Colorado's U.S. Senate seats have been held by Democrats since 2021. Cory Gardner was the last Republican to represent Colorado in the U.S. Senate. First elected in 2014, Gardner lost his bid for a second term in 2020 to John Hickenlooper who has held the seat since.

District	Member	Photo
3rd	Lauren Boebert
4th	Greg Lopez
5th	Doug Lamborn

• None.^[35]

Republicans have not won a statewide office since 2016, when Heidi Ganahl narrowly won the at-large seat on the University of Colorado Board of Regents.^[36]

• Senate Minority Leader: Paul Lundeen
• House Minority Leader: Rose Pugliese

Colorado Republican Party gubernatorial election results

Election	Gubernatorial candidate	Votes	Vote %	Result
1876	John Long Routt	14,154	51.53%	Won Y
1878	Frederick Walker Pitkin	14,308	49.98%	Won Y
1880	Frederick Walker Pitkin	28,465	53.28%	Won Y
1882	E. L. Campbell	28,820	46.91%	Lost N
1884	Benjamin Harrison Eaton	33,845	50.74%	Won Y
1886	William H. Meyer	26,816	45.55%	Lost N
1888	Job Adams Cooper	49,490	53.84%	Won Y
1890	John Long Routt	41,827	50.11%	Won Y
1892	Joseph Helm	38,806	41.79%	Lost N
1894	Albert McIntire	93,502	51.95%	Won Y
1896	G. H. Allen	23,945	12.66%	Lost N
1898	Henry R. Wolcott	51,051	34.17%	Lost N
1900	Frank C. Goudy	96,027	43.53%	Lost N
1902	James Hamilton Peabody	87,684	46.94%	Won Y
1904	James Hamilton Peabody	113,754	46.80%	Lost N
1906	Henry Augustus Buchtel	92,602	45.59%	Won Y
1908	Jesse Fuller McDonald	118,953	45.16%	Lost N
1910	John B. Stephen	97,691	43.48%	Lost N
1912	Clifford C. Parks	63,061	23.73%	Lost N
1914	George Alfred Carlson	129,096	48.67%	Won Y
1916	George Alfred Carlson	117,723	41.28%	Lost N
1918	Oliver Henry Shoup	112,693	51.15%	Won Y
1920	Oliver Henry Shoup	174,488	59.55%	Won Y
1922	Benjamin Griffith	134,353	48.29%	Lost N
1924	Clarence Morley	178,078	51.92%	Won Y
1926	Oliver Henry Shoup	116,756	38.11%	Lost N
1928	William L. Boatright	114,067	31.85%	Lost N
1930	Robert F. Rockwell	124,164	38.06%	Lost N
1932	James D. Parriott	183,258	40.78%	Lost N
1934	Nathan C. Warren	162,791	39.91%	Lost N
1936	Charles M. Armstrong	210,614	43.65%	Lost N
1938	Ralph Lawrence Carr	296,671	59.50%	Won Y
1940	Ralph Lawrence Carr	296,671	54.37%	Won Y
1942	John Charles Vivian	193,501	56.23%	Won Y
1944	John Charles Vivian	259,862	52.40%	Won Y
1946	Leon Lavington	160,483	47.89%	Lost N
1948	David A. Hamil	168,928	33.67%	Lost N
1950	Daniel I. J. Thornton	236,472	52.43%	Won Y
1952	Daniel I. J. Thornton	349,924	57.08%	Won Y
1954	Donald G. Brotzman	227,335	46.44%	Lost N
1956	Donald G. Brotzman	313,950	48.66%	Lost N
1958	Palmer Burch	228,643	41.59%	Lost N
1962	John Arthur Love	349,342	56.67%	Won Y
1966	John Arthur Love	356,730	54.05%	Won Y
1970	John Arthur Love	350,690	52.46%	Won Y
1974	John D. Vanderhoof	378,907	45.71%	Lost N
1978	Ted L. Strickland	317,292	38.53%	Lost N
1982	John Fuhr	302,740	31.67%	Lost N
1986	Ted L. Strickland	434,420	41.03%	Lost N
1990	John Andrews	358,403	35.43%	Lost N
1994	Bruce D. Benson	432,042	38.70%	Lost N
1998	Bill Owens	648,202	49.06%	Won Y
2002	Bill Owens	884,583	62.62%	Won Y
2006	Bob Beauprez	625,886	40.2%	Lost N
2010	Dan Maes	199,792	11.1%	Lost N
2014	Bob Beauprez	938,195	45.95%	Lost N
2018	Walker Stapleton	1,080,801	42.80%	Lost N
2022	Heidi Ganahl	983,040	39.2%	Lost N

• Republican Party (United States)
• Political party strength in Colorado

• Official website