Colorado Republican Party Gains Ground (and Controversy) in 2024

The Colorado Republican Party started 2024 with a nearly unprecedented lack of political power. But as the source of almost continuous controversy this year, the state GOP began clawing its way out of obscurity...though the party's road to recovery remains rocky.

Party Chair Dave Williams declared in January that 2024 would be all about bringing the Colorado GOP back from 2022's "extinction-level" election — during which Republicans failed to take any of the statewide executive offices and lost seven seats in the Colorado Legislature, leading to a Democratic political dominance not seen in Colorado since 1938.

However, by June, the party's comeback had been largely defined by sensationalism and infighting. Far-right Republicans aligned with Donald Trump were pitted against more traditional, centrist members of the party, playing out in messy primary races like that of U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert, who was giving up her CD3 seat for a run in CD4. The discord was heightened by Williams's decision to endorse candidates in the primary, breaking the party's decades-long tradition of staying neutral. The unorthodox and unpopular move didn't pan out, as fourteen of the eighteen candidates endorsed by the party lost their primary races.

One was Williams, whose run for Congress in CD5 sparked an effort to remove him as party chair. That push gained support from Republicans throughout the state after Williams sent a series of anti-LGBTQ messages attacking Pride Month using the state GOP email.

Amid the turmoil, though, the party started racking up victories. A lawsuit attempting to block Trump from Colorado's ballot was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. Boebert won her primary and went on to win the general election. And while Williams's bid for Congress failed, the long fight to oust him as party chair was ultimately unsuccessful.

The November election brought more wins: In addition to Trump securing the presidency, Republican candidates managed to flip CD8, take three state House seats to end the Democratic supermajority over the chamber, and make gains on the state Board of Education and RTD board. Plus, Republican-backed ballot measures to create a $350 million fund for law enforcement and increase minimum prison time for some violent crimes passed, the latter in spite of opposition from the state Democratic Party.

Public perception may have started to tip in the Colorado Republican Party's favor, as well. The party's longtime nemesis, Democratic Secretary Jena Griswold, landed in hot water when the party revealed that her office leaked voting system passwords and failed to inform county clerks of the error. The state's most prominent Democrat, Governor Jared Polis, also began aligning himself with the GOP to the chagrin of many local Democrats, celebrating one of Trump's leadership picks and openly condemning President Joe Biden for pardoning his son.

The Colorado GOP gained over 35,000 active registered voters in 2024 — 5,000 more than the Democratic Party added, according to data from the Secretary of State's Office. Both parties' increases pale in comparison to the state's 107,000 new unaffiliated voters, however.

Despite the Republican progress, Colorado is still a solidly Democrat-controlled, left-leaning state. While all fifty states shifted to the right this election, Colorado had one of the smallest rises in support for Trump compared to 2020, according to a New York Times analysis. Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris easily won the state, and voters approved a host of progressive ballot measures, such as protecting gay marriage and abortion access, and taxing gun and ammunition sales.

Meanwhile, the state Republican Party is doubling down on controversial rheortic that could threaten the gains it has made.

Anti-transgender sentiments from party leadership led some Republican state legislators to refuse to sign on to policies sponsored by Colorado's only transgender lawmaker, claims Representative Brianna Titone. And even as the party celebrated its election wins, it simultaneously hosted an event boosting conspiracy theorists who'd previously called for Democratic politicians to be hung and claimed that every election for the past two decades has been fraudulent — including Trump's latest victory — while alleging that the FBI brainwashes the public as part of an election-rigging scheme.

It's a bold strategy. We'll see if it pays off in 2025.