Gadfly—An Uncomfortable Goad to the Colorado Republican Political Scene by Anna Stronger

We have a country to save, but our state party is AWOL. Congratulations to Gabe Evans (8th Congressional District), Jeff Hurd (3rd Congressional District), and Jeff Crank (5th Congressional District). Despite having to battle not only their Democratic opponents but also their own state Republican Party, they prevailed.

The Republican National Congressional Committee (RNCC) has been deeply frustrated with the Colorado Republican Party’s lack of support for congressional candidates. To assist Jeff Hurd and Gabe Evans, the RNCC turned to the Arizona Republican Party to mail into the two districts—a very unusual move. A spokesperson for the Arizona Republican Party said they were “happy to help our Republican neighbor in Colorado any way we can.”

Apparently, the Arizona Republican Party and Republicans around the country knew the contests in the 3rd and 8th Congressional Districts were critical to maintaining the majority in the House. It is unclear if the Colorado Republicans were either aware or concerned about the need to maintain the majority in the House to ensure the implementation of President-elect Trump’s agenda. Why did the Colorado Republican Party not assist in these Colorado contests?

Nick Nbayer, Jeff Hurd’s campaign manager, has been heard to say, “The Colorado Republican Party is involved in its own struggles and did not provide any assistance.” Since the beginning of 2023, the Colorado Republican Party has raised $1.3 million. The Colorado State GOP spent $600,000 on staff salaries, office expenses, consulting fees, and $58,000 on Chairman Dave Williams’s failed congressional bid. During the crucial period to get out the vote for President Trump, Gabe Evans, and Jeff Hurd, the Colorado Republican Party sat on $700,000 in the bank.

Hat tip to Teller County Republicans for assisting neighboring counties and their candidates with fundraising and canvassing over the course of the campaign.

Congratulations to Rose Pugliese and her team for assisting the following candidates to end the super-majority in the State House:

• Republican Candidate Dan Woog (House District 19) won by 121 votes over Jillaire McMillan.
• House District 16 Republican candidate Rebecca Keltie leads by 7 votes over uber-socialist Stephanie Vigil.
• Much like Team Weld, District Attorney Michael Allen, Congressional Candidate Jeff Crank, and Larry Liston assisted Rebecca Keltie and State Senate Candidate Stan VanderWerf. They had a team of 25-50 people each Saturday since July, canvassing door-to-door to turn out the vote. Rebecca Keltie also had a great team that set about curing the approximately 160 ballot envelopes that had signature discrepancies. That effort alone likely resulted in her pulling 7 votes ahead.
• House District 50 Republican candidate and rising star Ryan Gonzales won by 563 votes.

There is a saying that victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan. With such narrow victories in these three contests, any volunteer who spent a day making phone calls, knocking on doors, or curing ballots can take credit for helping these three candidates across the finish line.

Voters painted Weld County solidly red; five seats flipped to the GOP. After recognizing that the Colorado Republican Party leadership had neither the money nor the inclination to help Republicans, this group pushed ahead with outstanding results.

Read more here: https://pagetwo.completecolorado.com/2024/11/22/voters-paint-weld-county-solidly-red-five-seats/.

— Anna Stronger