ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — The call is coming from inside for Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams to resign.
Six of Colorado’s eight Republican Congressional candidates put out a brief statement, along with State Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, R-Monument, calling for Williams to relinquish the role as party head.
“We, the undersigned Republican political leaders in Colorado, write to you today to formalize what we have individually relayed to you. We urge you to resign from your chairmanship, today. If you elect not to resign, we implore the members of the State Central Committee to remove you tomorrow, July 27, 2024,” the letter stated.
It was signed by:
- Lundeen
- Valdamar Archuleta – 1st Congressional District candidate
- Marshall Dawson – 2nd Congressional District candidate
- Jeff Hurd – 3rd Congressional District candidate
- Jeff Crank – 5th Congressional District candidate
- John Fabbricatore – 6th Congressional District candidate
- Gabe Evans – 8th Congressional District candidate
Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, who is running for the 4th Congressional District, and 7th Congressional District Republican candidate Sergei Matveyuk did not sign the letter.
Boebert put out her own statement on her campaign Facebook account. She called the Republican Party infighting embarrassing but stopped short of calling for Williams’ resignation. Williams and the Colorado GOP endorsed Boebert in the 4th Congressional District primary.
An Arapahoe County District Court Judge has granted Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams' restraining order preventing a meeting from happening on Saturday to potentially oust him.
The judge said Williams made significant efforts to notify the defendants of the lawsuit and demonstrated a reasonable probability of success in his efforts to prevent Saturday's meeting from happening.
The judge said the temporary restraining order preventing the meeting from happening would be enforceable after Williams posted a $1,000 bond. As of 5:50 p.m. Friday, court records show the bond hasn't been posted yet.
El Paso County Republican Party Vice Chair Todd Watkins was the one who called for the special meeting to oust Williams as party chair and simultaneously elect a new party chair.
Late last month, Watkins said he had the signatures of 112 party central committee members wanting to hold a vote to remove Williams.
The party rejected that petition, saying Watkins did not provide enough of a paper trail to prove the names listed wanted to oust Williams.
Submitting the petition started a clock that required the Colorado GOP to hold a meeting within a certain time. The party’s vice chairwoman, Hope Scheppelman, held a meeting in far southwest Colorado, in Bayfield, under a bridge on a bike path, to fulfill that requirement. Three of 415 central committee members attended, and the meeting was called to order and adjourned within five minutes.
When the party rejected Watkins’ petition, it also determined that last weekend’s meeting in Bayfield was not necessary. There was confusion among party members about if that meeting was still taking place, which it did, under a bridge.
Four Republicans have stated their desire to replace Williams as party chair. They include:
- State Rep. Richard Holtorf – Akron Republican
- Eli Bremer – former U.S. Senate candidate
- Brita Horn – former Routt County treasurer
- Steven Peck – Douglas County Republican Party Chairman