Derrick Wilburn, vice chair of the Colorado Republican Party, will decide whether to run for state party chair later this month, after current GOP chair Steve House makes his decision on whether to seek re-election to the post.
Wilburn made the comments on KLZ 560-AM Tuesday, under direct questioning from Rush to Reason host Dan Meurer.
MEURER: I’ve got to ask you this, Derek: Are you going to run for State Party Chair?
WILBURN: You dirty [so-and-so]. Here’s the answer: I don’t know yet.
MEURER: Oh!
WILBURN: I’m a supporter of Steve House…. I would not consider running against him and trying to unseat him. So, until I know what his decision is, I won’t have a decision of my own.
Wilburn told Meurer that House will make his decision Jan. 23 on whether to defend his chairmanship. House has said previously that he will make his decision on running in late January
If he throws his hat in the race for party chair, Wilburn would join Steve Athanasopoulos, an ardent Trump supporter and failed congressional candidate, who announced his candidacy on KNUS 710-AM’s Peter Boyles show in November.
Also in the race is El Paso County Republican Chair Jeff Hays, as first reported by the Colorado Springs Gazette.
A decision by House not to seek re-election may open a floodgate of Republican candidates seeking to replace him, say political observers.
Wilburn, the founder of American Conservatives of Color and Rocky Mountain Black Conservatives, is a former talk-radio host, who at times has been a harsh critic of the Colorado Republican Party, including former chair Ryan Call. In one on-air critique, he gave an “Almost Human” award to Republicans generally.
Wilburn is known to be a tireless activist, crisscrossing the state in his efforts to bolster the Republican Party and diversify the GOP, which continues to repel most people of color across the country.
An early version of this post had George Athanasopoulos’ first name wrong, but the last name was spelled correctly.