Fourteen of the 18 candidates endorsed by the Colorado GOP lost their primary elections Tuesday, most of them by double-digit margins.
The results are adding to criticism of state party leadership, including chairman Dave Williams, who were already under fire for making the unorthodox decision to endorse in Republican primaries in the first place.
Williams was among the candidates endorsed by the party who lost their primaries Tuesday. He got walloped by conservative activist and commentator Jeff Crank in the 5th Congressional District.
State Rep. Richard Holtorf, an Akron Republican who lost Tuesday in the six-way GOP primary in the 4th District, said the losses are another sign that Williams needs to be removed as chair.
“His election strategy, surrounded by this MAGA-right-Republican Trump endorsement theory, was a failed experiment,” said Holtorf, who called for Williams’ resignation after the state party endorsed U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert in the 4th District primary. “He was never the right person to lead the Republican Party, and in July there’s going to be a movement to remove him and the other executive committee elected leaders, to set a course for a new direction for the Colorado Republican Party. That’s coming and there’s nothing Dave can do to stop it.”
The chart below shows how the GOP’s preferred candidates fared:
U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert was the biggest winner among the four candidates endorsed by the Colorado GOP who won their primaries Tuesday. She had a 29-percentage point lead as of Wednesday morning in the six-way primary in the 4th District.
The candidate endorsed by the GOP who was losing by the largest margin Wednesday morning was former state Rep. Janak Joshi in the 8th Congressional District. He was losing to state Rep. Gabe Evans by 55 percentage points.
Joshi moved to an apartment in Thornton earlier this year from Colorado Springs to run in the 8th District.
The decision to let the Colorado GOP endorse in partisan primaries was made under Williams’ leadership by members of the state central committee at a gathering earlier this year.
All of the candidates endorsed by the Colorado GOP got on the primary ballot via the caucus and assembly nomination process. Williams has criticized candidates who gathered petition signatures to make the ballot.
“I think he should realize there’s a new wave of leadership, and that this is a referendum on him,” El Paso County Treasurer Chuck Broerman, a Republican, said at a primary election watch party Tuesday night in Colorado Springs where Crank called for GOP unity. “This is not the pathway to success … it’s by embracing each other.
A special Colorado GOP central committee meeting is scheduled for Aug. 31. The agenda includes “consideration of any special meeting petition requests/questions properly submitted,” which may mean an effort to oust Williams. At least 60% of the committee would have to vote to remove Williams.
The Colorado GOP sent out an email Wednesday morning congratulating the party’s primary winners.
“Primary elections can be tough but now is the time to shift our focus toward defeating Joe Biden and all the radical Democrats who are harming Colorado and the nation,” the unsigned email said. “Now is the time to come together to help get President Trump and our nominees across the finish line.”