Colorado Republican Party

History

2010s

Ted Cruz won all of Colorado's delegates during the 2016 presidential primaries. Colorado's delegation to the 2016 Republican National Convention stagged a walkout as part of the Never Trump movement. However, Ken Buck and other members of the delegation later became Trump supporters after initially opposing him.

According to Frank McNulty, fringe candidates began winning in safe Republican seats in the 2010s. Republicans in Colorado shifted rightward following the election of Trump. From 2018 to 2020, Republicans lost all of their statewide offices, except for the at-large Board of Regents seat held by Heidi Ganahl. Between 1984 and 2016, the Republicans had more registered voters than the Democrats. In 2020, the Republicans lost control of the Regents of the University of Colorado for the first time in 41 years.

Patrick Neville was elected minority leader in the state house in 2016, which gave him control of the caucus' bank account. Neville renamed the account to Values First Colorado and registered it under his brother Joe Neville. The previous vendor was fired and replaced with Rearden Strategic, which was run by Joe. $207,800 was given to Rearden Strategic from 2017 to 2020, and two other committees managed by Joe, Citizens for Secure Borders IEC and Take Back Colorado, were given $274,200 and $545,000 respectively. Representative Larry Liston stated that it was embarrassing for those who contributed funds and Representative Lois Landgraf was critical of the lack of oversight and not supporting "appropriate candidates".

2020s

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. 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. 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."

Also in December, Colorado congressional Republicans supported a lawsuit aimed to overturn the election results. 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.

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. 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."

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. 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.

In March 2025, former Routt County treasurer Brita Horn was elected chairperson of the party.

Current elected officials

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 half of the state's U.S. House delegation, having erased the Democrats' majority after the 2024 elections when Gabe Evans defeated incumbent Democrat Yadira Caraveo.

Members of Congress

[[U.S. Senate]]

• 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.

[[U.S. House of Representatives]]

Statewide offices

• None. 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.

[[Colorado General Assembly|Legislative leadership]]

• Senate Minority Leader: Cleave Simpson
• House Minority Leader: Jarvis Caldwell

Election results

Presidential

Gubernatorial

Notes

References

Works cited

References

1. "2024 Voter Registration Statistics".
2. (2023-03-11). "Colorado GOP selects combative, election-denying new leader".
3. (2020-12-20). "What happened to the Colorado Republican Party?".
4. Birkeland, Bente. (14 November 2022). "'An extinction level event': Colorado Republicans react to deep election losses".
5. (2023-06-21). "Colorado Republican party sees cashflow, spending plummet with election losses and leadership change".
6. Frank, John. (26 June 2023). "Colorado GOP Marred by Infighting Under New Leader Dave Williams".
7. Frank, John. (25 February 2021). "Colorado GOP doubles down on Trump's baseless "stolen election" claims". [[Axios (website).
8. Paul, Jesse. (2021-08-30). "Colorado Republicans want to win over unaffiliated voters in 2022. Can they do it if their base is still focused on 2020?".
9. (2020-12-03). "Ken Buck defends Colorado's election system against "conspiracy theory," angering fellow Trump supporters".
10. Birkeland, Bente. (7 December 2020). "GOP State Reps Ask For Election Investigation In Spite Of Audit That Uncovered No Problems".
11. Hindi, Saja. (2020-12-15). "No evidence of widespread voter fraud uncovered in meeting on Colorado election integrity".
12. Aedo, Zachary. (2020-12-10). "Lamborn, Buck among 106 House Republicans backing Texas lawsuit to overturn election".
13. Case, Angela. (2021-01-07). "How Colorado lawmakers voted in the Electoral College certification".
14. (2021-01-04). "Most Colorado Republicans in Congress will object to election certification".
15. Melnick, Kyle. (13 March 2023). "Colorado GOP picks election-denying former state legislator to lead party". The Washington Post.
16. Kim, Bente Birkeland,Caitlyn. (14 June 2023). "In rare move, Colorado GOP goes after Republican Congressman".
17. Dorman, John L.. "Colorado Republicans reckon with string of major electoral losses as Democrats strengthen their hand in the onetime GOP stronghold".
18. Paul, Jesse. (2025-03-29). "Brita Horn, former county treasurer, elected to replace Dave Williams as Colorado GOP chair".
19. ernest.luning@coloradopolitics.com, Ernest Luning. (2025-03-29). "Colorado Republicans elect former county treasurer Brita Horn as state party chair".
20. (November 9, 2022). "Republicans must wait until 2026 before they have any real shot at winning back power in Colorado". The Colorado Sun.
21. Paul, Jesse (September 10, 2021). [https://coloradosun.com/2021/09/10/heidi-ganahl-candidacy-colorado/ "Republican Heidi Hanahl files to run for Colorado governor in 2022"]. ''[[The Colorado Sun]]''. Retrieved September 21, 2021. "The University of Colorado regent, who is the only Republican official who holds statewide office, was expected to formally announce her bid next week."
22. https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/colorado-republicans-jarvis-caldwell/