{"id":50476,"date":"2020-11-13T00:40:02","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T07:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/where-do-colorado-republicans-go-from-here\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:51:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:51:36","slug":"where-do-colorado-republicans-go-from-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/where-do-colorado-republicans-go-from-here\/","title":{"rendered":"Where do Colorado Republicans go from here?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Republican
Republican Walker Stapleton, right, concedes to Democrat Jared Polis on Tuesday night, Nov. 6, 2018. He was flanked by his wife and children.<\/span>Jesse Paul\/The Colorado Sun<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Four years ago, before Donald Trump was president, Colorado Republicans had a place at the table.<\/p>\n

They held one of Colorado\u2019s U.S. Senate seats and three statewide offices: attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer. The GOP was even in power at the Colorado Capitol, where the state Senate was in the party\u2019s hands, forcing Democrats to compromise on every piece of legislation.<\/p>\n

Shift to 2020 and Colorado conservatives, in the wake of Trump\u2019s presidency, have lost all of that power and are now in the middle of a fierce battle to claw some of it back.<\/p>\n

Lori Weigel, a prominent GOP pollster, said when she started working in Colorado it was \u201can overwhelmingly Republican state and the Broncos never lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, 22 years later,\u201d she said, \u201cit\u2019s a little different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republicans in Colorado are facing a real crisis as the state moves further to the left. The bench of future GOP leaders the party hoped to build now is looking thin, one that could rival the Broncos\u2019 injured list.<\/p>\n

Cory Gardner. Mike Coffman. Walker Stapleton. Wayne Williams. Cole Wist. George Brauchler. Polly Lawrence. All of them were solidly beaten in the past two election cycles.<\/p>\n

No Republican running statewide has won more than 45% of the vote in the past two election cycles.<\/p>\n

\"Bonnie
Bonnie Vermilion of Colorado Springs cheers as she awaits the arrival of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence at a campaign rally at the World Arena in Colorado Springs Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020.<\/span>Mark Reis\/Special to The Colorado Sun<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

University of Colorado Regent Heidi Ganahl will be the GOP\u2019s sole statewide elected official next year, when the party will control just a third of Colorado\u2019s nine-member congressional delegation. Outnumbered, Republicans\u2019 influence at the state Capitol has mostly been relegated to their ability to slow down the lawmaking process.<\/p>\n

Democratic voter registrations have surpassed Republican ones. The state\u2019s largest voter bloc, unaffiliateds, are trending left.<\/p>\n

A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, a Windsor Republican who also is chairman of the Colorado GOP, said he didn\u2019t have time to speak to The Colorado Sun. He took the party\u2019s top post in 2019 after the devastating blue wave a the year before, but little changed at the top of the ticket under his tenure and the party is squabbling as much as ever.<\/p>\n

Conservatives who did speak to The Sun expressed a mix of dismay and hope about the Colorado Republican Party\u2019s future, with many pointing out that there really is nowhere to go now but up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is the dawn of a new day for the Republican Party, rather than an indication of a continued trajectory downward,\u201d said Rep. Colin Larson, a Littleton Republican who is one of the last GOP state lawmakers representing the Denver suburbs. \u201cHave we now reached the dead end, or have we reached a fork in the road and were going to take the right fork?\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also broad consensus that something needs to change \u2014 whether it\u2019s the messaging or the platform or the candidates. The answer is not entirely agreed upon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Republicans need to do some soul-searching and figure out if they really want to win in Colorado,\u201d said Lawrence, a Republican former state representative who lost a three-way primary for state treasurer in 2018. \u201cIt takes a recognition that Colorado has shifted. We need to change our messaging, not change our core values. We need to listen to the voters of the districts we represent so we understand what\u2019s important to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

What does Donald Trump have to do with it?<\/div>\n

Colorado Republicans\u2019 losses over the past two election cycles have been attributed in large part to Trump and his unpopularity among unaffiliated voters.<\/p>\n

That thinking was backed up this year by the president\u2019s walloping in Colorado. As of Tuesday, Trump was losing to Democrat Joe Biden by 13 percentage points in the state. In 2016, Trump lost to Democrat Hillary Clinton by less than 5 percentage points.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of us weren\u2019t running against our Democrat opponents,\u201d said Larson, who faced a hotly contested election this year. \u201cWe were running against Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Donald
Donald Trump exits his plane towards supporters during a rally in Grand Junction on Oct. 18, 2016.<\/span>William Woody\/Special to The Colorado Sun<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Now the question is whether the Colorado GOP can move on from Trump. The president\u2019s influence on the Republican Party is expected to endure, and support for him will serve as a litmus test for GOP candidates for years to come.<\/p>\n

In a recent forum hosted by the University of Denver, Andrew Struttmann, a Republican consultant at Saratoga Strategies, said while Colorado Republicans initially supported Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for president in 2016, they\u2019ve come around in a big way. \u201cHell hath no fury like a convert,\u201d he said, \u201cand those folks (running the party now) are among the most vocal and ardent Trump supporters in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

He doubts \u201cthe Republican Party will switch back to the way things were just as quickly as they switched from being anti-Trump to pro-Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

That could spell problems as Republicans look to reclaim voters who left the party\u2019s orbit because of the president.<\/p>\n

\u201cRepublicans will need to look in the mirror and figure out if Donald Trump-type politics is what Colorado wants,\u201d said state Rep. Kyle Mullica, a Thornton Democrat. \u201cI would argue probably not.\u201d<\/p>\n

U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, an Aurora Democrat who was propelled into office in 2018 in large part by the Trump backlash, is watching to see if Republicans continue to embrace Trump or revert to their roots.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that they can find their footing again, I really do,\u201d he said, explaining that political diversity is a good thing.<\/p>\n

But Struttman and other GOP strategists said Trump doesn\u2019t tell the whole story. \u201cRepublicans had a brand problem that predates Trump but was accelerated by Trump,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Trump
Trump supporters gathered on all four corners at University Boulevard and Highlands Ranch Parkway on Election Night, Nov. 3, waving flags and playing music.<\/span>John Leyba\/Special to The Colorado Sun<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Dustin Olson, a Republican consultant who has worked in Colorado, said the party needs to get sharper if they want to win. That means meeting voters where they are.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think if they talk about issues that matter to Coloradans \u2014 free market, job creation, innovation, a lot more libertarian issues \u2014 they are going to speak to a broad base of voters across the state,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Specifically, Republicans really need to find a way to speak to \u2014 and win back \u2014 suburban voters, who are increasingly moving away from the GOP, according to an analysis by The Sun.<\/p>\n

While the Democratic vote increased in 40 of the state\u2019s 64 counties this year, the largest shifts came in the Denver suburbs of Jefferson and Broomfield counties, which for years were considered more neutral territory, as well as a couple of smaller mountain communities.<\/p>\n

A party of Lauren Boebert and Kevin Priola<\/div>\n

As Colorado Republicans have lost in swing districts and competitive races, the party\u2019s roster of elected officials has become dominated by candidates from parts of the state that have traditionally been more conservative.<\/p>\n

That has had the effect of moving the party\u2019s image and platform to the right while the electorate heads the other way.<\/p>\n

Colorado\u2019s Republican congressional delegation starting next year is a good example. Buck and U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn in Colorado Springs identify with the most conservative wing of the party. And now Lauren Boebert, an unflinching Republican who won in Colorado\u2019s 3rd Congressional District, is poised to become one of the most well-known GOP elected leaders in the state next year.<\/p>\n

Boebert ousted five-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, a Trump-endorsed Republican from Cortez, in the 2020 primaries, in part by claiming he wasn\u2019t conservative enough. And then she easily beat Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush on Election Day, vowing to be a sentinel against liberal policies in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

\"Lauren
Lauren Boebert, center, Republican Candidate for Colorado&#x2019;s 3rd Congressional District, recites the Pledge of Allegiance with her mother, Shawn Bentz, left, during a get-out-the-vote-rally at the Grand Junction Motor Speedway in Grand Junction on Nov. 2.<\/span>Barton Glasser\/Special to The Colorado Sun)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cI actually love Lauren Boebert,\u201d Caylie Stearly, a 25-year-old conservative voter in Pueblo, said just before Election Day. \u201cI\u2019ve seen the horrible commercials against her and them saying that she\u2019s not good for Colorado. But in what way? She stands for everybody having their Second Amendment rights. That\u2019s our legal right as an American. Period.\u201d<\/p>\n

But while Boebert may fit her district well because of its strong conservative bent, she\u2019s not the kind of candidate who can win statewide, says Tyler Sandberg, a Republican consultant in Colorado. To balance her out, the GOP needs politicians who can win in purple or blue-leaning congressional and statehouse districts, too.<\/p>\n

Sandberg points to state Sen. Kevin Priola, R-Henderson, who won a tough reelection battle in Denver\u2019s northeastern suburbs this year. He\u2019s the most bipartisan legislator at the Capitol.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers like Priola have become a rarity over the past two election cycles. Sandberg says conservatives need more people like him to make gains. Boebert fires up the base. Priola wins you the suburbs.<\/p>\n

\"Sen.
Sen. Kevin Priola, R-Henderson, and Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, listen as the Senate Health and Human Service Committee hears debate on a bill that would change Colorado&#x2019;s vaccine exemption rules on Feb. 19.<\/span>Jesse Paul\/The Colorado Sun<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cA good party will find the levers to engage both sides,\u201d Sandberg said. \u201cIf the Republicans want to govern and want to be relevant, they\u2019ll have to find a way to find future Boeberts and future Priolas and find a way to operate together.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cYou don\u2019t need sellouts, but you need people who can sell the message.\u201d<\/p>\n

But in order to ensure there are more Priolas in the Colorado GOP, the party has to make room for them.<\/p>\n

Cole Wist, a Republican former state representative from Centennial, lost his statehouse reelection bid in 2018. Along the way, he faced backlash from within his party for not being conservative enough, including attacks from the far-right Rocky Mountain Gun Owners group because of his work on legislation aiming to ensure people who are a threat to themselves or others don\u2019t have access to a firearm.<\/p>\n

Wist says conservatives have to grow their ranks and be more inclusive if they want to win in Colorado. Those on the right and those who are more in the middle \u2014 like him and Priola \u2014 have to be able to coexist.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see those two wings of the party uniting,\u201d he said. \u201cA divided Republican Party is almost certain to fail in Colorado, because we have our backs against the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jesse
Jesse Paul\/The Colorado Sun<br><br>Colorado lawmakers meet in the state Senate on May 28.<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

That split is creating friction as it plays out in real time in the Colorado House Republican caucus.<\/p>\n

Rep. Patrick Neville, a Castle Rock Republican who has been a vocal critic of Democrats, recently stepped down as minority leader and was replaced on Monday by Rep. Hugh McKean, a Loveland Republican who has vowed to take a different approach.<\/p>\n

Not everyone in McKean\u2019s caucus embraces his vision of being an active part of lawmaking with the Democratic majority at the Capitol. Rep. Dave Williams, a Colorado Springs Republican who is allied with Neville, said he\u2019s worried about caving too much to Democrats.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack in July, after the primaries, (McKean) had signaled that he wanted to work with Democrats in a more collaborative, compromising way,\u201d Williams said. \u201cI ultimately think that\u2019s just not the way we should be headed. We should be trying our best to demonstrate to the voters how out of touch and how radical the Democrats are. Part of our failure as a party is we haven\u2019t been able to demonstrate that, for whatever reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

To Williams, the problem isn\u2019t what Republicans are selling. It\u2019s the way they are selling it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Democrats \u2014 to give them credit \u2014 they are very good at what they do,\u201d Williams said. \u201cThey have a well-oiled machine when it comes to politics. They\u2019re good political operators. Republicans are trying to play catch up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even Democrats admit 2022 could be tough for them<\/div>\n

While Republicans may be licking their wounds after two election cycles of defeat in Colorado, they see a rebound on the horizon. And Democrats know they may be vulnerable.<\/p>\n

History suggests that 2022 could be a difficult year for Democrats. Midterm elections typically serve as a check on the party in the White House. Republicans used President Barack Obama as an effective foil in the 2014 election, which helped the GOP propel Sen. Gardner to victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cOff-year elections tend to be problematic for the party in the White House,\u201d said Eric Sonderman, a Denver political analyst. \u201cI think that could be somewhat muted this time by the fact that, in all likelihood, Democrats will not control the (U.S.) Senate. They will not be able to enact large parts of their agenda. They won\u2019t be able to go all in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Democrats aren\u2019t taking any chances.<\/p>\n

State Rep. Briana Titone, an Arvada Democrat, says the challenge for her party will be \u201cpreventing the pendulum swinging too far right in reaction to progressive bills\u201d as well as \u201csliding too far left and losing (voter) registrations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colorado Senate Majority Leader Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, was grateful Democrats made gains in his chamber to help \u201cweather that (2022) storm.\u201d In remarks to his caucus, Fenberg endorsed an aggressive, yet cautious approach over the next two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should be brazenly progressive in our values,\u201d he said, \u201cwhile simultaneously being inclusive in our execution.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Senate
Senate Majority Leader Stephen Fenberg at the Colorado Capitol on Jan. 8, in Denver, Colorado.<\/span>Kathryn Scott\/Special to The Colorado Sun<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Colorado House Democrats spent big money aiming to expand their majority this year, including in the Republican stronghold of Douglas County, only to see it maintain the status quo.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat tells me a lot about the voters in this state,\u201d said McKean, the House Republican leader. \u201cWe hear all this talk about how blue Colorado might be getting. I don\u2019t believe it for a second.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wayne Williams, the former Republican secretary of state who was swept out of office in the 2018 blue wave, said he thinks conservatives will see that the \u201codds are a lot better\u201d now that Biden has been elected president.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happens to the Republican Party in the future?\u201d asked Williams, who is now a Colorado Springs city councilman. \u201cWell, I think one of things you see happening at the state level is a shifting to the left of the Democratic Party, and I think ultimately that provides an opening for Republicans to regain that 5 (percentage points) of the vote they need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams was referencing how no Republican on the statewide ballot has won more than 45% of the vote in the past two election cycles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not talking about an insurmountable hurdle,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re talking about 5%.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staff writer John Frank and correspondent Sandra Fish contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more at The Colorado Sun<\/em><\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, journalist-owned news outlet exploring issues of statewide interest. Sign up for a newsletter and read more at coloradosun.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more at The Colorado Sun<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s also broad agreement the party has a messaging problem<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-50476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50476","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=50476"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87756,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50476\/revisions\/87756"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50476"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=50476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}