At the annual Colorado GOP Awards Banquet, held last month in Pueblo, the state party gave its top awards to Republicans who have fostered debunked conspiracy theories about how the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent.
Also in attendance at the banquet were former U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, Colorado GOP Chair Kristi Burton Brown, and current candidate for Governor Heidi Ganahl.
Brown repeatedly questioned the integrity of Colorado’s 2020 election and said that Republicans need to “go on the attack” against Dominion Voting Systems. Ganahl refuses to say whether she believes the 2020 election results are legitimate.
Ty Winter, Republican of the Year
Ty Winter, the chair of the Las Animas County Republicans and chair of House District 64, was named the 2021 Republican of the Year at the banquet.
According to several Facebook posts, Winter believes that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump.
In addition, Winter is opposed to vaccines, according to his Facebook page.
Since 2018 Winter also served as an occasional co-host on Major League Liberty, a far-right podcast with ties to the Proud Boys.
Schumé Navarro, Colorado GOP Rising Star
Schumé Navarro, secretary for the Arapahoe County Republican Party and a candidate for Cherry Creek School Board, won the Colorado GOP’s Rising Star award.
In August, the Colorado Times Recorder reported on Navarro promoting the QAnon conspiracy theory and election fraud conspiracies through social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. Navarro attended the Jan. 6 ‘Stop the Steal’ rally at the U.S. Capitol that escalated into a riot and can be seen in the below video under 30 feet from the building.
Navarro is currently suing Cherry Creek School District over a requirement that school board candidates must wear masks while at election forums. Navarro says she has a nasal condition that makes it difficult to breathe while wearing a mask.
Emily Brake, Election Integrity
Emily Brake is the election integrity chair for the Colorado GOP, a position she was named to in August. Brake is also a member of the Boulder County GOP.
The name of Brake’s award is unclear, but while presenting the award Kristi Burton Brown praises Brake’s work in election integrity. The Colorado GOP did not return a request for a comment or a list of awardees from the banquet.
Before working with the Colorado GOP Brake has pushed election fraud conspiracies related to Dominion Voting Systems and signed a symbolic letter refusing to certify Boulder County’s 2020 election results.
Brake also has connections with the U.S. Election Integrity Project (USEIP), a Colorado-based group going door-to-door — sometimes armed — to check for evidence of voter fraud across the country. Brake has denied being a member of USEIP, despite numerous posts under her name and featuring her image appearing in USEIP’s private online chat platform.
As a member of Boulder County GOP’s “Audit Committee,” Brake solicited members of USEIP to help with the GOP’s “election integrity operations.”
“The experience base of USEIP grassroots activists like yourselves will be incredibly helpful as election judges, poll watchers, etc,” wrote Brake in a USEIP chat room. “For example, you can become involved to poll watch the running of Dominion or bring Voter Verification experience to work as a trained election judge examining voter records and determining voter eligibility during the election.”
CTR reporter Erik Maulbetsch contributed to this article.
