By BRIAN PORTER | The Rocky Mountain Voice
State Rep. Richard Holtorf, a candidate for Colorado’s 4th District seat in Congress, called Tuesday for Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams to resign, citing “numerous conflicts of interest” and “radical endorsement policies” alienating candidates for statewide and federal office.
Williams “ram-rodded 10 resolutions through state assembly” and then moved to endorse an individual candidate in the 4th District race against Colorado GOP bylaws, Holtorf cites in a press release. He is additionally calling for Williams, a candidate in the 5th District for Congress, to face ethical and legal review for “continued abuse of state GOP policies and bylaws”.
In a statement to Colorado Politics, Williams responded: “If Holtorf wishes to stand against the near unanimous majority of convention delegates and President Trump, then he’s definitely going to lose in June.”
Williams and 4th District candidate Lauren Boebert hold endorsements from President Donald Trump.
Holtorf noted the importance of election integrity, including within the Republican Party leadership.
“Whether it is the Colorado Supreme Court removing Donald Trump from the ballot, or Jena Griswold unduly influencing elections as the Colorado Secretary of State, or Chair Dave Williams trying to change the rules and bylaws of the Colorado Republican Party, interfering in elections and using positions of trust to impose your will on the electorate and bypassing their right to vote is wrong,” Holtorf said. “Citizens must stand up and say ‘no’ to this type of tribalism.”
He cites Colorado State GOP bylaws Article III, Section C, which he says prevents endorsement of a candidate in a contested primary election.
“With more than 10 candidates running to replace Ken Buck, there is no question the CD4 race was highly contested,” Holtorf said. “Dave Williams continued to abuse his office as [Colorado] GOP chair by trying to bypass all Republican delegates and voters in Eastern Colorado with an endorsement concocted by his own hand. This is not only unethical, but possibly illegal.”
He cites Colorado GOP bylaws dated Sept. 2023: “No candidate for any designation or nomination for partisan public office shall be endorsed, supported or opposed by the Colorado Republican Committee (CRC), acting as an entity, or by its state officers or committees, before the primary election, unless such candidate is unopposed in the primary election, or the candidate has gained access to the primary election ballot, but has not participated in the applicable authorized Republican Assembly/Convention…..”
The endorsement in question was made on the Colorado Republican Party’s Twitter-X account: “Our Party is proud to endorse @laurenboebert for Congress as she’s the only candidate in the race with a backbone & proven record of success fighting the corrupt media & failed establishment in Washington D.C.”
Trump also seemed to get involved with a post he made on Truth Social: “Dave Williams, the chairman of the Colorado Republican Party who also, fortunately for the people of Colorado, happens to be running for Congress, is under Fake News assault because he is doing such a strong job as an advocate for MAGA. Also, and very importantly, due to the efforts of Dave, and so many others, we are going to WIN COLORADO. The people will not stand for the charade played where the Democrats tried, and failed, to take me, and the voice (VOTE!) of millions of Americans, out of the Election! COLORADOMAGA!!!
After the Saturday, April 6, state assembly voice vote to change the state party bylaws, Dave Williams took the opportunity to push forward a slate of resolutions, thus bypassing credentialing of the delegates to the assembly and disregarding a vast majority of voters in CD4, Holtorf wrote.
“Leaving the suspect legality of a ‘voice vote’ in a large room of both uncredentialed and credentialled delegates aside for the moment, the resolution that passed did not give carte blanche to the state chair to endorse a single or slate of insider candidates,” he said. “In fact, the resolution title said, ‘Resolution No. 10: Endorsement of all assembly candidates for state office or higher’.”
He criticized it as crony politics, and what he rejects as a non-establishment Republican candidate.
The campaign notes Holtorf’s participation in the caucus and assembly process at the county and district level, and the gathering of petition signatures of unpaid volunteers from 13 counties, not paying for the gathering of signatures.
Holtorf complains that “nowhere in the wording of this resolution does it state the chair alone can endorse one individual candidate. I am a member of the state central committee and did NOT vote to endorse any candidates. Nor should the chair, the state central committee, or the state executive committee ever endorse a single candidate before the Republican primary election.”
The actions by Williams are an overstep of his authority, Holtorf said.
“His draconian leadership is now setting a dangerous precedent for the Colorado Republican Party to follow,” he added. “No one person should be able to use undue influence or indirectly force a preferred slate of candidates onto the primary ballot using his position as the State Party Chair. Hundreds of thousands of Republicans may become alienated in the process.”
The Twitter-X post in question, where the state party endorsed Boebert, also criticized her and Holtorf’s opponent Deborah Flora: “We don’t need to elect dishonest, say-anything politicians like Deb Flora.”
Issuing another complaint of Williams, Holtorf focused on the 5th District campaign.
“Dave Williams has used his position as chair to presumably hijack the state party for his own political campaigning and selfish outcomes, including using the State GOP e-mail account, mailing lists and other Colorado GOP resources,” he said. “I hope the Federal Election Commission is watching and takes a good look at his actions. Dave Williams should resign, so a fair and impartial Republican primary campaign can take place. The State Central Committee should revoke all individual candidate endorsements in all contested races to return the Republican process to a fair and transparent election cycle.”
He continued: “The Colorado GOP under Dave Williams’ leadership has made more unethical endorsements and changes to bylaws and resolutions in one year than any other Colorado GOP leader in recent history. The changes are far-reaching and Dave Williams seems to think he now can pre-select a slate of candidates, including himself, before the 2024 primary election. These actions deliberately bypass delegates and voters, polarize candidates and voters, create discord amongst Republicans across the entire state of Colorado, and ultimately may discourage good people from running as Republican candidates for public office if they do not wish to ‘kiss the ring’ of the Colorado GOP.”
Additionally, Huerfano County Republicans have issued a call for Williams to immediately resign. Prior to assembly, one other party chair had indicated to the Rocky Mountain Voice support for Williams’ removal. It would require at least 25% of the members of the state’s Republican Central Committee to call a special meeting for Williams’ removal.