UPDATE: Following publication, LPR Board Chair Bob Schaffer replied to CTR’s email. His response has been added.
It would be hard to name someone who knows Colorado’s conservative training program, the Leadership Program of the Rockies (LPR), better than Heidi Ganahl. After graduating from LPR in 2013, she joined its Advisory Board, a position she still holds today. Following her election as a statewide Regent for the University of Colorado, she joined LPR’s Board of Directors, serving from Feb. 2017 through 2018.
It’s the breadth and depth of Ganahl’s experience with LPR that makes the statement she made for the launch event for her new political podcast, “Unleashed,” so puzzling. In a prerecorded introduction Ganahl filmed just prior to the March 28 live event, Ganahl addressed her failed gubernatorial campaign, calling it “the elephant in the room.” Ganahl listed three issues she says affected her campaign: insufficient fundraising; minimal coordinated field work, and media bias. As she finished summarizing each of three problems, she concluded with “we’re gonna fix that,” perhaps implying that she is considering another run for office.
Her gripe about LPR was made in passing, but nevertheless as part of what appeared to be scripted remarks. For her second point concerning the lack of a good door-knocking campaign, Ganahl called out several groups by name, including LPR.
“I thought organizations that are on our side, like the GOP, both state and — believe me there were some good people in the counties — but the RNC, LPR, AFP would have the ground game ready to go after the primary,” said Ganahl. “It was not there! We realized quickly we had to build our own- fast. Enter the wonderful hundreds of Ganahl Gals, the folks who showed up for rallies, our great volunteers. But we couldn’t build it big enough fast enough. Now we know. We’re gonna fix that.”
As the old Sesame Street song goes, “one of these things is not like the others.” The state GOP and RNC, or Republican National Committee, are both campaign committees that can and do undertake field efforts for GOP candidates. AFP is Americans for Prosperity, the Koch-funded political behemoth that does all kinds of independent work on behalf of Republicans it chooses to endorse through its 501c4 nonprofit, including lots of door knocking. The Colorado Times Recorder could not find any evidence that AFP endorsed Ganahl in 2022 as it did for the previous GOP nominee for governor, Walker Stapleton, in 2018. AFP did not return a request for comment on Ganahl’s statements.
LPR, however, is a 501c3 nonprofit, meaning that while it can accept tax-deductible contributions, it is a non-partisan corporation that definitely cannot run “ground game” for a Republican gubernatorial candidate.
Responding (after publication) to CTR’s request for comment, LPR Board Chairman Bob Schaffer provided the following statement:
“The Leadership Program of the Rockies is a well-respected academic institution that helps civic leaders hone their craft,” wrote Schaffer. “It engages in neither partisan campaigns nor advocacy for the election or defeat of political candidates. After listening to the segment, it seems more likely to me Mrs. Ganahl was referring to a different organization with either the same or similar shorthand initials.”
Ganahl too did not return an email request for clarification on her statement. The Colorado Times Recorder asked whether she knows that LPR is nonpartisan and therefore is not allowed to support any candidate, why she considers the organization to be “on her side,” as well as what sort of “ground game” she expected it to provide. This article will be updated with any responses received.
