By Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics
Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams is drawing fire from fellow Republicans after the state GOP mailed a brochure to El Paso County voters this week that includes attacks on one of the congressional candidates running against Williams in this year’s Republican primary.
Since announcing his candidacy in Colorado Springs-based 5th Congressional District in January in an email distributed by the state GOP, Williams has faced calls to step down from the party post, with critics citing party bylaws that prohibit the party and its officers from taking sides in primaries, including on their own behalf. Those calls have intensified this week, including from three of Williams’ predecessors as state party chair.
“That’s misappropriation of party funds that donors gave to defeat Democrats in the general, not to be used to by a self-promoter to attack fellow Republicans during the primary,” Jeff Hays, a former chairman of the state GOP and of the El Paso County Republicans, told Colorado Politics after reviewing the mailer.