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Colorado Republican Party
[REDACTED]
Chairperson	Kristi Burton Brown
Senate Leader	Paul Lundeen
House Leader	Mike Lynch
Headquarters	5950 S. Willow Drive, Suite 210 Greenwood Village, Colorado 80111
Membership (2023)	1,025,041
Ideology	Conservatism Fiscal conservatism Social conservatism
National affiliation	Republican Party
Colors	Red
U.S. Senate	0 / 2
U.S. House	3 / 8
Statewide offices	0 / 5
Colorado Senate	12 / 35
Colorado House of Representatives	19 / 65
Website
www.cologop.org
Politics of the United States Political parties Elections

The Colorado Republican Party is the state affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Colorado. The party's headquarters is located in Greenwood Village, Colorado. The state party chair is Kristi Burton Brown.

The Republican Party was dominant in the state as recently as the mid-2000s, however it has greatly declined over the subsequent decades. After the 2020 United States elections, Republicans held the smallest amount of political power in the state government since World War II. This decline has been attributed to various factors, including the party moving too far right for the state, changing demographics, mismanaged campaign money, internal party divisions, a better organized Democratic Party, and the unpopularity of Donald Trump in the state. The party fared even poorer in the 2022 elections, in which Democrats swept every statewide office by a double-digit margin, expanded their dominance in the state's U.S. House delegation, and further expanded their supermajorities in both chambers of the legislature.

In the aftermath of the heavily lopsided results of the 2022 elections, one Republican state representative lamented that “Colorado Republicans need to take this and learn the lesson that the party is dead. This was an extinction-level event.”

Recent history

Since 2016, the Colorado GOP have shifted more rightward in their political positions and have subsequently embraced Trumpism.

Since Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, elements of the Colorado GOP and its voter base have espoused support for Trump's false claims of election fraud. While top Colorado Republicans have defended Colorado's local elections, they have cast doubt on the validity of the election results in other states or stayed silent on Trump's allegations of fraud. On December 7, 2020, a group of Republicans requested to the Speaker of the House KC Becker that a committee be formed on "election integrity" to conduct a audit of the Dominion Voting Systems used in Colorado in spite of no evidence of issues. The request was rejected, with Becker criticizing it as "a dangerous stunt" and a promotion of "debunked conspiracy theories."

Later in December, Republicans tried to utilize the Legislative Audit Committee in an effort to call for an audit of Colorado's election, citing claims of election irregularities despite there being no evidence of widespread fraud. On December 15, the committee found no evidence of fraud and Republican-led motions to launch an audit of the Secretary of State's Office were defeated. The efforts were criticized as being partisan and a misuse of the committee's purpose. Also in December, Colorado congressional Republicans supported a lawsuit aimed to overturn the election results. On January 6, 2021, congressional Republicans from Colorado objected to certify the election results, with Lauren Boebert and Doug Lamborn objecting to certify the results.

In 2021, while testifying under oath in court in relation to a lawsuit, the leaders of a fringe group revealed that chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown served as president to their organization, FEC United, a far-right group with a militia arm that has promoted conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 elections, COVID, and QAnon. According to the testimony, Brown was president of the group from November 2020 while serving as vice-chair of the Colorado GOP and later left to run for the chair position for the state GOP in early 2021.

During the 2022 legislative session, fifteen Republican members of the state senate voted in favor of unsuccessful amendments to a resolution on voting rights by thanking the pro-Trump rioters that stormed the Capitol and to decertify the 2020 presidential election.

Current elected officials

After the 2020 elections, the Colorado Republican Party controls one statewide office and holds minorities in the Colorado Senate and House of Representatives. Republicans also hold a 3-5 minority in the state's U.S. House delegation.

Members of Congress

U.S. Senate

• None

Both of Colorado's U.S. Senate seats have been held by Democrats since 2021. Cory Gardner was the last Republican to represent Colorado in the U.S. Senate. First elected in 2014, Gardner lost his bid for a second term in 2020 to John Hickenlooper who has held the seat since.

U.S. House of Representatives

• CO-03: Lauren Boebert
• CO-04: Ken Buck
• CO-05: Doug Lamborn

Statewide offices

• None.

Legislative leadership

• Senate Minority Leader: Paul Lundeen
• House Minority Leader: Mike Lynch

Election results

Presidential

Gubernatorial

Colorado Republican Party gubernatorial election results

Election	Gubernatorial candidate	Votes	Vote %	Result
1876	John Long Routt	14,154	51.53%	Won Y
1878	Frederick Walker Pitkin	14,308	49.98%	Won Y
1880	Frederick Walker Pitkin	28,465	53.28%	Won Y
1882	E. L. Campbell	28,820	46.91%	Lost N
1884	Benjamin Harrison Eaton	33,845	50.74%	Won Y
1886	William H. Meyer	26,816	45.55%	Lost N
1888	Job Adams Cooper	49,490	53.84%	Won Y
1890	John Long Routt	41,827	50.11%	Won Y
1892	Joseph Helm	38,806	41.79%	Lost N
1894	Albert McIntire	93,502	51.95%	Won Y
1896	G. H. Allen	23,945	12.66%	Lost N
1898	Henry R. Wolcott	51,051	34.17%	Lost N
1900	Frank C. Goudy	96,027	43.53%	Lost N
1902	James Hamilton Peabody	87,684	46.94%	Won Y
1904	James Hamilton Peabody	113,754	46.80%	Lost N
1906	Henry Augustus Buchtel	92,602	45.59%	Won Y
1908	Jesse Fuller McDonald	118,953	45.16%	Lost N
1910	John B. Stephen	97,691	43.48%	Lost N
1912	Clifford C. Parks	63,061	23.73%	Lost N
1914	George Alfred Carlson	129,096	48.67%	Won Y
1916	George Alfred Carlson	117,723	41.28%	Lost N
1918	Oliver Henry Shoup	112,693	51.15%	Won Y
1920	Oliver Henry Shoup	174,488	59.55%	Won Y
1922	Benjamin Griffith	134,353	48.29%	Lost N
1924	Clarence Morley	178,078	51.92%	Won Y
1926	Oliver Henry Shoup	116,756	38.11%	Lost N
1928	William L. Boatright	114,067	31.85%	Lost N
1930	Robert F. Rockwell	124,164	38.06%	Lost N
1932	James D. Parriott	183,258	40.78%	Lost N
1934	Nathan C. Warren	162,791	39.91%	Lost N
1936	Charles M. Armstrong	210,614	43.65%	Lost N
1938	Ralph Lawrence Carr	296,671	59.50%	Won Y
1940	Ralph Lawrence Carr	296,671	54.37%	Won Y
1942	John Charles Vivian	193,501	56.23%	Won Y
1944	John Charles Vivian	259,862	52.40%	Won Y
1946	Leon Lavington	160,483	47.89%	Lost N
1948	David A. Hamil	168,928	33.67%	Lost N
1950	Daniel I. J. Thornton	236,472	52.43%	Won Y
1952	Daniel I. J. Thornton	349,924	57.08%	Won Y
1954	Donald G. Brotzman	227,335	46.44%	Lost N
1956	Donald G. Brotzman	313,950	48.66%	Lost N
1958	Palmer Burch	228,643	41.59%	Lost N
1962	John Arthur Love	349,342	56.67%	Won Y
1966	John Arthur Love	356,730	54.05%	Won Y
1970	John Arthur Love	350,690	52.46%	Won Y
1974	John D. Vanderhoof	378,907	45.71%	Lost N
1978	Ted L. Strickland	317,292	38.53%	Lost N
1982	John Fuhr	302,740	31.67%	Lost N
1986	Ted L. Strickland	434,420	41.03%	Lost N
1990	John Andrews	358,403	35.43%	Lost N
1994	Bruce D. Benson	432,042	38.70%	Lost N
1998	Bill Owens	648,202	49.06%	Won Y
2002	Bill Owens	884,583	62.62%	Won Y
2006	Bob Beauprez	625,886	40.2%	Lost N
2010	Dan Maes	199,792	11.1%	Lost N
2014	Bob Beauprez	938,195	45.95%	Lost N
2018	Walker Stapleton	1,080,801	42.80%	Lost N
2022	Heidi Ganahl	983,040	39.2%	Lost N

See also

• Republican Party (United States)
• Political party strength in Colorado

References

1. Griswold, Jena (February 2, 2023). "February 2023 Colorado Voter Registration by Party" (PDF). Colorado Secretary of State. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
2. "What happened to the Colorado Republican Party?". The Denver Post. 2020-12-20. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
3. Birkeland, Bente. "'An extinction level event': Colorado Republicans react to deep election losses". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
4. Frank, John (2020-08-25). "How Colorado Republicans transformed from "Never Trump" to Donald Trump loyalists in four years". The Colorado Sun. Archived from the original on 2020-09-02. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
5. Paul, Jesse (2020-11-12). "Where do Colorado Republicans go from here?". The Colorado Sun. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
6. Frank, John (25 February 2021). "Colorado GOP doubles down on Trump's baseless "stolen election" claims". Axios. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
7. Paul, Jesse (2021-08-30). "Colorado Republicans want to win over unaffiliated voters in 2022. Can they do it if their base is still focused on 2020?". The Colorado Sun. Archived from the original on 2021-08-30. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
8. Burness, Alex (2021-12-11). "Election denialism and far-right activism sit firmly within the Colorado GOP". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on 2021-12-11. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
9. "Ken Buck defends Colorado's election system against "conspiracy theory," angering fellow Trump supporters". The Denver Post. 2020-12-03. Archived from the original on 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2021-10-09. ...prominent Colorado Republicans, who tend to defend Colorado's election system even as they cast doubt on systems in other states, or remain mum on Trump's allegations of widespread fraud.
10. Birkeland, Bente (7 December 2020). "GOP State Reps Ask For Election Investigation In Spite Of Audit That Uncovered No Problems". Colorado Public Radio. Archived from the original on 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
11. ^ Hindi, Saja (2020-12-15). "No evidence of widespread voter fraud uncovered in meeting on Colorado election integrity". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on 2020-12-16. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
12. Goodland, Marianne (10 December 2020). "Questions beginning to surface around scope of audit committee meeting on election integrity". Colorado Politics. Archived from the original on 2020-12-10. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
13. Aedo, Zachary (2020-12-10). "Lamborn, Buck among 106 House Republicans backing Texas lawsuit to overturn election". KRDO. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
14. Case, Angela (2021-01-07). "How Colorado lawmakers voted in the Electoral College certification". FOX21 News Colorado. Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
15. "Most Colorado Republicans in Congress will object to election certification". The Denver Post. 2021-01-04. Archived from the original on 2021-01-04. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
16. Clark, Kyle (October 5, 2021). "Testimony indicates Colorado GOP chair led fringe conspiracy group allied with militia". 9news.com. Retrieved 2021-10-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
17. Maulbetsch, Erik (2021-10-04). "Court Documents Reveal Colorado GOP Chair Led Conspiracy Group in 2020". Colorado Times Recorder. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
18. "Why Democrats think the 2020 election debate is a political win". Axios. January 19, 2022. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
19. "Majority of Colorado House Republicans vote for supporting Jan. 6 crowd, election conspiracy theories". KMGH-TV. January 18, 2022. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
20. Paul, Jesse; Nelson, Delaney; Fish, Sandra (November 9, 2022). "Republicans must wait until 2026 before they have any real shot at winning back power in Colorado". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved January 20, 2023.

External links

• Colorado Republican Party

v t e Colorado political parties
Major parties (ballot-qualified)	Democratic Republican
Minor parties (ballot-qualified)	American Constitution Approval Voting Center Forward Green Libertarian No Labels Unity
Minor parties (not ballot-qualified)	Socialist
Political party strength in Colorado

• Republican Party (United States) by state
• Politics of Colorado
• Political parties in Colorado