{"id":41742,"date":"2022-03-07T21:41:43","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T04:41:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/republican-u-s-senate-candidates-are-relying-on-dumpster-fire-ballot-access-process\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:03:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:03:06","slug":"republican-u-s-senate-candidates-are-relying-on-dumpster-fire-ballot-access-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/republican-u-s-senate-candidates-are-relying-on-dumpster-fire-ballot-access-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Republican U.S. Senate candidates are relying on \u2018dumpster fire\u2019 ballot-access process"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Candidates
Candidates speak at a Republican U.S. Senate forum on Feb. 3 in Fort Lupton. (Olivia Sun\/The Colorado Sun via Report for America)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Colorado Republicans\u2019 path to unseating Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet could hinge on a slate of six upstart GOP candidates whose decision to try to use the unpredictable caucus and assembly process to get on the ballot is heaping volatility onto a race with national consequences.<\/p>\n

Because the candidates all lack name recognition, even within their own party, there is no clear frontrunner and it\u2019s anyone\u2019s guess who will prevail when Republicans gather on April 9 at the GOP state assembly to decide who should advance to the June 28 primary.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is more volatile and more open than we\u2019ve seen in a long time,\u201d Dick Wadhams, a former Colorado GOP chairman, said of this year\u2019s caucus and assembly process.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how the caucus and assembly process works: Republican voters gather in small numbers at precinct caucuses to elect delegates, often based on which candidates they support. Those delegates then go on to represent their precincts \u2013 often a neighborhood \u2013 at state assembly.<\/p>\n

Candidates running for U.S. Senate who are seeking a spot on the primary ballot through the caucus and assembly process need the support of 30% of the delegates at the state assembly to advance to the June primary.<\/p>\n

That means a maximum of three, but more likely two and possibly only one, of the six GOP challengers going the caucus and assembly route will make the primary ballot on April 9.<\/p>\n

\"U.S.
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet speaks to reporters Feb. 23 in Clear Creek County. The Democrat is up for reelection in 2022. (Andy Colwell\/Special to The Colorado Sun)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

It\u2019s the \u201cdumpster fire of all electoral processes,\u201d said Tyler Sandberg, a GOP political consultant.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a just byzantine process that is impossible for anyone to understand, let alone the average voter,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a 10-car pileup at state assembly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Precinct caucuses, the first step in the process, were held last week at high schools across the state. And like high school, precinct caucuses are incredibly unwieldy.<\/p>\n

Turnout can be low since caucuses force people to show up at a specific date and time, leaving some precincts with no delegates. Candidate name recognition can be little to none among caucusgoers. And delegates can always change their mind when it comes to who they support.<\/p>\n

Add in a field of U.S. Senate candidates that GOP voters are still getting to know, and it\u2019s essentially a free for all.<\/p>\n

\"Attendees
Attendees listen as candidates speak at a Republican U.S. Senate forum Feb. 3 in Fort Lupton. (Olivia Sun\/The Colorado Sun via Report for America)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Wadhams said he didn\u2019t think the U.S. Senate GOP slate worked very hard to try to persuade supporters to become delegates, leaving the battle to make the primary ballot especially wide open.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Senate (race), most of these people are really unknown,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are people who haven\u2019t had much visibility in the party before.\u201d<\/p>\n

The power vacuum could be filled by a Senate candidate with the best name ID, such as state Rep. Ron Hanks, a Fremont County Republican who has embraced and spread unfounded conspiracies about fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Or it could be filled by a candidate who simply gives the best speech to delegates at the state assembly.<\/p>\n

Hanks declined to discuss his caucus and assembly strategy, but he said he feels confident \u201cwhere we\u2019re at right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a good plan in the works,\u201d he said. \u201cI really have no worries on this. I\u2019m putting this on faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ron
Ron Hanks speaks at a Republican U.S. Senate candidate forum on Feb. 3 in Fort Lupton. (Olivia Sun\/The Colorado Sun via Report for America)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Only Denver businessman Joe O\u2019Dea is trying to make the Republican U.S. Senate primary ballot through the much more predictable, though very expensive, signature-gathering process. He must turn in 1,500 signatures from GOP voters in each of Colorado\u2019s eight congressional districts to secure his spot in the primary.<\/p>\n

Going the signature-gathering route this year will probably cost anywhere from $200,000 to $500,000 for a statewide candidate, money that O\u2019Dea, a multimillionaire, has. Hanks, by comparison, raised less than $20,000 in the last three months of last year.<\/p>\n

The only other Republican Senate candidate with enough campaign cash or personal wealth to try to make the ballot by gathering signatures is Gino Campana, a former Fort Collins city councilman. But he opted for the caucus-assembly route instead, which at a recent candidate forum he called \u201cthe good, old-fashioned \u2026 process.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other four Republican U.S. Senate candidates seeking to make the primary ballot through the caucus and assembly process are former talk radio host Deborah Flora, former El Paso County GOP Chairman Eli Bremer, Colorado Christian University Professor Gregory Moore and Peter Yu, who has worked in sales and marketing.<\/p>\n

Candidates who decide to go the caucus and assembly route save money, but subject themselves to the whims of a relatively small group of fickle party insiders.<\/p>\n

The volatility of the process was on full display in Colorado\u2019s 2016 Republican U.S. Senate primary, when El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn shocked the Colorado political world after he secured so much support at the GOP state assembly that year after delivering an inspiring speech that he kept several other candidates, including favorite Tim Neville, then a state senator, from the ballot.<\/p>\n

Glenn went on to win the GOP primary, but lost to Bennet in the general election.<\/p>\n

\"Republican
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Darryl Glenn laughs during his debate with U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., at History Colorado on Oct. 11, 2016, in Denver. (David Zalubowski\/Associated Press file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

In 2018, seven GOP gubernatorial candidates in Colorado sought ballot access through the caucus and assembly process. Only two secured at least 30% of the delegate vote: then-Treasurer Walker Stapleton and former Parker Mayor Greg Lopez.<\/p>\n

Lopez\u2019s victory came as a shock and meant that then-Attorney General Cynthia Coffman was denied a spot on the primary ballot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still have PTSD from that day,\u201d said Roger Hudson, a Castle Pines city councilman who was Coffman\u2019s campaign spokesman. \u201cI wake up in cold sweats.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hudson also worked on Glenn\u2019s 2016 Senate campaign, which he says was an example of how at the state assembly \u201canything can happen and often does.\u201d<\/p>\n

The unpredictability of the caucus and assembly route was on full display last week for three Colorado Sun reporters who visited precinct caucus locations in Arapahoe, Douglas and Jefferson counties.<\/p>\n

\"Republican
Republican caucus goers gather at Cherry Creek High School in Arapahoe County on March 1. (Jesse Paul\/The Colorado Sun)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

At Cherry Creek High School, where turnout was tepid, the first two caucusgoers a Sun reporter approached couldn\u2019t name even one of the GOP\u2019s U.S. Senate candidates. The next five all said they support Flora, a Douglas County mother who has picked up a following because of her recent activism in local school issues. She has not held elected office before.<\/p>\n

\u201cDeborah Flora brought national attention to what was going on in schools in her comments during school board meetings,\u201d said Jaclyn Lauer, a Republican voter from Centennial. \u201cI was really intrigued by her tenacity and how well spoken she was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Renee Anderson, a precinct captain at ThunderRidge High School in Highlands Ranch, said Flora is her pick in the Senate race too. She\u2019s heard Flora speak at various Republican events and had the opportunity to talk to her about water issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Deborah Flora is very smart,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cShe has reached out to anybody who will listen. She hears what they have to say and incorporates it into how (she can) make that better at the federal level as a senator.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Deborah
Deborah Flora speaks at a Republican U.S. Senate candidate forum on Feb. 3 in Fort Lupton. (Olivia Sun\/The Colorado Sun via Report for America)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Wadhams said the Republican precinct caucus he attended in southern Jefferson County last week was sparsely attended, too, \u201cwhich is a little surprising because there\u2019s so much enthusiasm among Republicans about the possibilities in 2022 and the fact that we have very competitive primaries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since precinct caucuses are where delegates to the county and state assemblies are chosen, low turnout means little competition to become a delegate.<\/p>\n

Republicans at another precinct caucus at Arvada West High School were disappointed by the low turnout, and noted a lack of volunteers to head up precincts. There wasn\u2019t much talk about the Senate race. Conversation centered on baseless concerns about fraud caused by Dominion Voting Systems equipment, as well as a perceived need for a voter identification requirement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still concerned about the (voting) machines,\u201d said Marc Auville, a precinct chair from Arvada, claiming the machines would benefit Democrats, and Republicans should therefore turn out in force. Mention of Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters\u2019 run for secretary of state generated nods of approval from the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we all are,\u201d another man responded.<\/p>\n

Colorado Sun staff writers Thy Vo and Jennifer Brown contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to covering Colorado issues. To learn more, go to coloradosun.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

hopefuls are battling for support of at least 30% of delegates<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[120,266,28,826,1126,2972,25],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-41742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-colorado","tag-election","tag-headlines","tag-political-campaigns","tag-politics-general","tag-primary","tag-u-s-sen-michael-bennet"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41742"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85081,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41742\/revisions\/85081"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41742"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=41742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}