By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice
“We’re like a great football team,” Russ Andrews told delegates at the Colorado Republican Party reorganization meeting on March 29. “But when we take the field, we block and tackle each other. That has to end.”
It was a sentiment echoed by the party’s newly elected leaders Brita Horn (Chair), D. Lee Phelan Sr. (Vice Chair), and Andrews himself, who was elected Secretary. The three swept their respective races after a day of pointed speeches, surprise withdrawals and shifting alliances that ended with a new leadership slate promising to put unity and effectiveness over factional infighting.
Contests, concessions and realignment
Lori Saine, who came in second to Horn in the chair race, struck a note of resilience. She told the crowd, “We have had a great contest in our party with great strife. Let’s take all that energy, iron sharpening iron – against ourselves, and use it to defeat Jared Polis’s run for presidency and make Colorado Republican again.”
Horn won the chair race in a second-round vote, 232 to 203, after five other candidates withdrew including Richard Holtorf, Ryan Everett, Jeremy Goodall and Mark Morris. Holtorf, Everett and Morris encouraged supporters to vote for Horn.
Holtorf was direct about the party’s priorities, telling delegates “What’s the mission? To win statewide races. Period. Nothing else beyond that matters if you don’t win.” He also emphasized the need to stop “mean girl, mean boy comments” and unite behind a candidate who could win.
Phelan won the vice chair position with 206 votes after Danielle Neuschwanger withdrew and endorsed him.
Hope Scheppelman, who received 173 votes, was endorsed by Rep. Ken DeGraaf. She highlighted her extensive grassroots work, saying, “We have supported 226 candidates. I personally made 13,491 phone calls from December 2023 curing ballots.”
Andrews secured the secretary position outright with 264 votes. Gregg Cooper and Nicole Brittain received 46 and 41 votes respectively.
Outgoing Secretary Anna Ferguson withdrew, citing a legal conflict involving Horn. Outgoing Chair Dave Williams commented on Ferguson’s withdrawal, saying “Anna was personally sued by the newly elected Chair. There is certainly a breakdown that just cannot be worked out at this time.”
Yet history shows that it was the outgoing party leadership that initiated a lawsuit against Horn and others.
Williams added, “If those who are serious about unity, maybe your childish comments should stop. You should actually be quite sad that a fully capable person who is immensely qualified for this job is choosing to not want to serve.”
Horn: Fighting fires, not each other
Horn, a fire chief, said the party’s internal conflict reminded her of firefighting with no teamwork.
“I’m a fire chief. I’ve run a volunteer fire department. And if we’re all standing around blaming each other, pointing fingers while the house is burning down, we’re not putting the fire out” she said.
Horn said the fire was still burning inside the party—and it was time to put it out.
“Right now, that’s what’s going on in our party. The fire is burning. There’s too much division, too much distraction. We need to stop the infighting and start fighting for the party.”
Horn outlined her plan for a better path forward. “We can’t just wait for people to walk in the door. We need teams. We support them with the data, the tech and the resources to win.”
The newly elected Chair asserted a focus on substance over show. “We don’t need another press release or another platform. We need action.” She added, “I care about our values. I care about our people. I care about our future.”
Phelan: Rebuilding from the ground up
Phelan, who rose through the ranks by rebuilding a struggling county party, said the state GOP’s failures aren’t due to lack of passion, but poor structure. “The Colorado GOP is not winning statewide elections. It’s not because we lack good people. The problem is structural.”
Specific shortcomings holding the GOP back were listed. “We lack coordination. We lack training. We lack reliable data. And too often, we just lack leadership that listens.”
He said support has to start at the local level. “I saw how hard it is for counties across Colorado to function when the state party doesn’t support them. Multiply that experience by 64 and that’s our reality.” Phelan added, “Our function starts at the precinct committee person. We need to make sure they have the tools, the database – so we’re not wasting time and we’re not wasting resources.”
Phelan also addressed the party’s internal communication gaps. “We need the ability to communicate with each other. And trust me when I say it’s not on social media.”
“When we hear about unity, unity means we move forward together.” The message echoed the day’s theme of healing and rebuilding.
With the firefight behind them
Andrews delivered a strategy-heavy pitch focused on growing the party through outreach, messaging, and relational support.
“The blocking in our game is fundraising. I’ve managed hundreds of millions of dollars of other people’s money. I think that stewardship is something we need to showcase.”
He laid out specific plans to engage Latinos, Christians and gun owners, calling them natural allies whose values align with Republican principles. “Latinos are Republicans. They just need to be told by someone.”
On the Christian vote, he shared a common concern he’s heard. “Christians have told me ‘God will take care of it, I don’t need to vote.’ I beg to differ. God gave us the shovel, but He wants us to do the digging, and the digging is voting.”
Andrews also spoke about missed opportunities in the gun-owning community. “Ten million gun owners didn’t vote in last year’s election. Let’s go to shooting ranges and cook hot dogs and hamburgers for them.”
He shared additional outreach ideas. “With Latinos, let’s have Latin American food in public parks with Latin American music. With Christians, let’s go to churches and host Sunday chicken barbecues.”
Andrews pointed to the 34,000 voters who signed Republican petitions but were disqualified by the Colorado Secretary of State. And said they represent a key growth opportunity. “Let’s drip on those 34,000 unaffiliated [voters] quarterly. Show them they’re Republicans and how to register.”
Andrews said his role would focus on availability, transparency and consistent communication. “I envision dramatically increasing and expanding the role of the Secretary. We need weekly send-outs of activities around the state, a lot of messaging. Just call me for anything.”
He also pushed back on factionalism. “Dave Williams and Anna and Hope, they’re not our enemies. Likewise, those people so glibly labeled ‘RINOs’ like my good friend Congressman Jeff Hurd, Lauren Boebert, Senator Kirkmeyer – they’re not our enemies.”
Andrews added, “Let me tell you who our enemies are. Jared Polis, Jena Griswold, the lunatics running our legislature and the toilet bugs that were protesting outside our banquet.”
He summed up his message with a nod to coalition-building over conflict. “If you agree with 80% of my values, you’re my friend and ally, not my 20% enemy.”
As the meeting closed, Horn’s analogy of fire lingered.
“If we keep blaming each other, we’re going to keep losing. I say we start to win, and we start to win now.”
With the firefight behind them, newly elected party leaders face the hard work of turning strategy into results.