By Brita Horn | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice
The main facet of the Colorado Republican Party is to help elect Republican candidates across the entire state. As the next leader of that party, my commitment to help elect Republican candidates is not an empty promise and I wanted to outline our plan, our commitment to candidates, with you.
First, we will support our incumbents in vulnerable seats by sending a $20,475 check to our CU regents, district attorneys, state board of education members, and state representatives or $28,375 for state senators, the maximum contributions allowed by law. We will send these checks from closest in the prior election to least vulnerable for any incumbent whose election was within five percentage points in the prior election.
We are committed to not interfering with the Republican nomination process for our candidates. If a Republican candidate in a competitive seat is unopposed after both ballot access routes have concluded, we will send them a maximum contribution at that time. In the case of a primary, the winner will receive their check on the day after the primary election.
Our mission is to support all Republican candidates; we will create avenues for candidates whose elections do not fit the criteria above to ensure they receive support as well. Ultimately, our long-term goal is to move competitive seats to being strongly red and chip away at Democrat strongholds.
Direct financial support is not the only support candidates need: we need full-time boots on the ground. Our party has slipped away from having full-time, year-round staff members to help our candidates. As your next chair, I will hire an executive director and four regional field directors to assist candidates and local parties year-round.
Republicans have a strong volunteer network here in Colorado, but they cannot solely rely on volunteers. To adequately support candidates, and start to turn Colorado red, we must have dedicated staff members supporting our cause. This is something our counterparts on the left have realized and something our party has done before.
With these staff members, we will be able to hold in-person training sessions on critical topics, including ensuring candidates understand deadlines and finance laws and equipping volunteers with the skills to cure ballots. A significant emphasis will be placed on utilizing data effectively — helping candidates access, analyze and apply party resources for data collection and voter targeting. These preparations can be completed months in advance, streamlining operations and reducing stress during the critical election season.
Republican candidates also thrive when they have support from organizations dedicated to promoting our party among groups that Republican candidates traditionally underperform with. As a state party, we must help promote, support and grow groups, such as the Young Republicans, Log Cabin Republicans and the Hispanic Republicans, to name a few.
I have worked with many of these wonderful organizations before and, as your chair, will work to build on these relationships so Republican candidates across the state can grow their support among the communities these organizations represent.
I am running to unite Republicans, not divide us further. That comes with a commitment to helping all candidates, not just the ones I agree most with or are personal friends with. I know for some Republicans, I may not be the first pick for chair, but I will not let that or any other past transgressions affect the full support of the state party.
If you share our commitment to candidates, please join our team and help me get elected chair. The election for the officers of the State Party, chair, vice chair and secretary will be held on March 29 at the Rock Church in Castle Rock.
But, not every Republican votes for the chair, only the State Central Committee. That committee consists of the officers (chairs, vice chairs, and secretary) from each county party, certain elected Republican officials, and bonus members. Bonus members are awarded to counties for every 10,000 votes cast for the Republican nominee for President, in this case, Donald Trump.
County officers and bonus members are elected at the individual county’s biannual reorganization meeting. These must be held between February 1 and February 15. Please check with your local county party to see when their reorganizational meeting will take place.
With your help, we can unite the State Party and start to take back Colorado! I hope you will join me in our commitment to our candidates.
Brita Horn is a grassroots and civic leader who is running for Chair of the Republican Party of Colorado. Find out more about Brita at her website.