Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: COLORADO GOP

Ganahl: Our loyalty is to the truth, not political convenience
Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Ganahl: Our loyalty is to the truth, not political convenience

By Heidi Ganahl | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice As the saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished.  Especially from your own party if you’re a republican in Colorado. Yesterday, March 27, the Rocky Mountain Voice team received a tip that there were over $100,000 in campaign finance violations in two committees run by Darcy Schoening, a candidate for Chair of the GOP, and that another news organization was about to break the story.  With the lack of balance in our Colorado media, we were concerned this would be a one sided “hit piece” so we decided to write our own piece to approach it in a fair way.  I had endorsed my friend Brita Horn for GOP Chair early in the race (personally, not as the President of RMV) before Darcy had jumped in as a candidate.  W...
[UPDATED] RMV Candidate Questionnaire: The battle for CO GOP Chair
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

[UPDATED] RMV Candidate Questionnaire: The battle for CO GOP Chair

By Rocky Mountain Voice Staff With the Colorado GOP Chair race heating up, more candidates have weighed in on the party’s future. When we first posed these questions, Brita Horn was the sole candidate to reply. Now, Darcy Schoening and Kevin McCarney have shared their perspectives, offering distinct strategies on voter outreach, fundraising and Proposition 108. We have not received answers from Jeremy Goodall, Richard Holtorf, or Lori Saine. As the March 29 election nears, their responses shed light on how each plans to rebuild and strengthen the party in a challenging political landscape. Why are you running for Chair? Brita Horn Darcy Schoening: I am running for Chair because winning starts locally—and right now, the Colorado GOP lacks the infrastructure, training,...
Richard Holtorf, retired Army colonel, former state House whip and cattle rancher, will seek Colorado GOP chair
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Richard Holtorf, retired Army colonel, former state House whip and cattle rancher, will seek Colorado GOP chair

By Brian Porter | Rocky Mountain Voice Richard Holtorf, a former state representative and the chairman of the Washington County Republican Party, announced Saturday in an exclusive interview with Rocky Mountain Voice his intention to seek the chairmanship of the Colorado Republican Party. "As a longtime Republican in the state of Colorado, knowing the dire straights the party is in due to a failed strategic plan by previous leadership and the enormous infighting because of that," Holtorf said, "and analyzing the field of candidates, I felt Colorado Republicans deserved the best candidate possible." After attending Akron High School in a small Eastern Colorado town where he still resides, some would argue Holtorf had three successful careers, and this could be his fourth. He ser...
Colorado GOP sues Republicans who tried to oust Dave Williams from state chair position
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado GOP sues Republicans who tried to oust Dave Williams from state chair position

By Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics The Colorado Republican Party sued six prominent state Republicans this week alleging the group orchestrated a failed "coup" that attempted to remove state GOP Chairman Dave Williams and his fellow state party officers from their positions last summer, costing the party substantial legal fees and diverting resources from campaigns just weeks before the November election. In a lawsuit filed on Monday in El Paso County District Court, the state GOP, Williams and the party's vice chair and secretary ask the court to find that the Republicans who instigated and carried out a plan that claimed to have replaced Williams and the other officers are liable for unspecified damages to be determined at trial. The 43-page complaint names as defendants forme...
Colorado’s GOP U.S. House members reject state GOP’s proposed bylaw changes, as Williams wants a debate
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Colorado’s GOP U.S. House members reject state GOP’s proposed bylaw changes, as Williams wants a debate

By Lindy Browning | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice In what some denounce as an attempt to consolidate power for GOP Chairman Dave Williams, the Republican Party has proposed a last-minute change to the organization's bylaws on Jan. 30. Colorado Congressional Republicans, supported by state Senate Republicans, have written an open letter rejecting these changes. “As Colorado’s four Republican members of Congress, we write to express our united and unequivocal opposition to the proposed bylaw amendments under consideration by the Colorado Republican Party.  As a party, we should not be taking votes to radically change our rules under a lame-duck administration, additionally, these changes threaten to undermine our ability as a party to focus on the issues that matter most...
Brita Horn announces she will seek chair of Colorado Republican Party
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Brita Horn announces she will seek chair of Colorado Republican Party

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Brita Horn, a former Routt County treasurer, a fire chief and grassroots and civic leader, has announced her candidacy for chair of the Colorado Republican Party. “This is about the future,” Horn said in a campaign press release. She noted a desire to lead the party with “three key priorities: relationships, resources and responsibility." She will focus on victories at the ballot box in 2026, the release reads. "Colorado Republicans have a bright future, but only if we unite, collaborate and focus on winning elections,” Horn said. As chair, she would build relationships with future candidates, donors, volunteers, activists and the public at large, ensuring the party has the resources necessary to support these candidates and responsi...
Colorado GOP petitioning Trump to ‘revoke and rescind illegal pardon’
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Colorado GOP petitioning Trump to ‘revoke and rescind illegal pardon’

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice The Colorado Republican Party is petitioning President-elect Donald J. Trump to revoke and rescind the pardon of Hunter Biden, issued Sunday by his father, President Joe Biden. In a link shared through Twitter on the party's official account, Republicans are asked to sign the petition requesting Trump "revoke and rescind the portions of this pardon that are illegal and unconstitutional after he is sworn in on Jan. 20, 2025." The webpage includes an image of the pardon with Joe Biden's signature. "Joe Biden issued a far sweeping and, quite frankly, illegal pardon for his criminal son Hunter Biden," the webpage begins. "This is not only a clear and corrupt conflict of interest that highlights the double standards of radical Democrats and the...
Colorado GOP leadership battle is scheduled to go to trial in October
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado GOP leadership battle is scheduled to go to trial in October

By Jesse Paul | Colorado Sun There may be an answer before Election Day as to who is the real chairman of the Colorado GOP.  A judge in El Paso County this week set a two-and-a-half day trial starting Oct. 14 in the lawsuit filed by Eli Bremer seeking to dislodge Dave Williams from the party’s top post and force him to relinquish the party’s resources. Both Bremer and Williams claim to currently be chairman of the Colorado GOP.  The date of the trial won’t leave much time for the outcome to have an effect on the Nov. 5 election. Ballots start being mailed to voters Oct. 11. Most television ad air time and mailers will have been planned and booked by then.  Still, the outcome of the legal drama will chart the future direction of the state Republican Party.  READ THE...
Colorado GOP faces transparency issues amid critical race controversies
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Colorado GOP faces transparency issues amid critical race controversies

By Rocky Mountain Voice Staff Amidst ongoing internal conflicts and strategic disputes, the Colorado Republican Party faces significant challenges concerning transparency and the manner in which it communicates its support for certain electoral races. The party leadership has outlined a list of "critical races," including several congressional districts and state legislative seats, such as CD3, CD8, SD5, SD6, SD12, HD43, HD16, HD19, HD25, HD26, HD50, HD57, SD13, and SD16.  This list of races targeted for strategic support in the upcoming elections was never formally communicated to many within the party, including some county chairs and leadership. This list was only discovered indirectly through the likes of concerned candidates.  Financial reports also reveal a concern...
El Paso County GOP chair Vickie Tonkins leads censure against party’s vice chair, demands he resign
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

El Paso County GOP chair Vickie Tonkins leads censure against party’s vice chair, demands he resign

By Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics The quarrel between Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams and a group of Republicans attempting to oust him from his position spilled over into local party politics this week when the El Paso County GOP's governing board voted to reprimand the party's second-in-command for spearheading the move to fire Williams, among other alleged "malicious acts." Add it to a growing pile of contradictory censure resolutions, disputed party meetings, dueling cease and desist orders, lawsuits both filed and threatened, and daily accusations that the other side is engaging in "illegal" activities — all part of a months-long struggle for control of the Colorado GOP. It could come to a head Saturday at a church in Brighton, when members of the sta...