Colorado Republican Party
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 state party chair is former state representative Dave Williams.[4]
Colorado Republican Party
The Republican Party was dominant in the state as recently as the mid-2000s, however it has greatly 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.[5]
The party fared even poorer in the 2022 elections, in which Democrats swept every statewide office by a double-digit margin, expanded their dominance in the state's U.S. House delegation, and further expanded their supermajorities in both chambers of the legislature.[6] In the aftermath of the heavily lopsided results, one Republican state representative lamented that "Colorado Republicans need to take this and learn the lesson that the party is dead. This was an extinction-level event."[6] Since 2023, the party has suffered a significant loss of revenue, further party infighting, the party veering further towards the right, and an overall further decline of influence in the state.[7][8]
Recent history[edit]
Since 2016, the Colorado GOP have shifted more rightward in their political positions and have subsequently embraced Trumpism and far-right ideologies.[9][10][11] Since the early 2010s, active voter registrations with the Colorado GOP has seen a decline and fell behind the Democratic Party in 2016.[12] In the 2018 elections, Republicans lost much power in the state, suffering significant losses in the aftermath of the election.[12]
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.[5]
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.[13][14][11] 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.[15] 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."[16]
Later in December, Republicans tried to utilize the Legislative Audit Committee in an effort to call for an audit of Colorado's election, citing claims of election irregularities despite there being no evidence of widespread fraud. On December 15, the committee found no evidence of fraud and Republican-led motions to launch an audit of the Secretary of State's Office were defeated.[17] The efforts were criticized as being partisan and a misuse of the committee's purpose.[18][17] Also in December, Colorado congressional Republicans supported a lawsuit aimed to overturn the election results.[19] On January 6, 2021, congressional Republicans from Colorado objected to certify the election results, with Lauren Boebert and Doug Lamborn objecting to certify the results.[20][21]
During the 2022 legislative session, the majority of Republican members of the state senate and house voted in favor of unsuccessful amendments to a resolution on voting rights by thanking participants of the January 6 United States Capitol attack and to decertify the 2020 presidential election.[22][23]
The party performed poorly in the 2022 elections; Democrats handily won every statewide office, expanded their numbers in the state's U.S. House delegation, and further expanded their majorities in both chambers of the legislature.[6] 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.[24][25] 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.[26][7][8][27]
