State Rep. Scott Bottoms, a far-right pastor who just completed his first legislative session representing Colorado Springs, said in a recent sermon that he knows that he is “the real leader” of the House Republican caucus.
Bottoms was recounting the last day of the session, when frustrated Republicans walked out of the House chamber in protest of Democrats’ decision to limit debate over a bill to lower property taxes. After noting that some of his colleagues agreed to walk out after he said he was going to do it, an unseen churchgoer called out, “that’s because you’re the real leader there!” Bottoms gave a hint of a smile before responding.
“Just don’t say that on the microphone,” said Bottoms. “I know that. I know that’s true. It took me about a month and a half to recognize that’s the reality. I don’t necessarily like that, but it is. I don’t dislike it.”
Bottoms’ claim that it took him six weeks to recognize the reality that he, rather than House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, is the real leader is at odds with his actions on the very first day of the session, when he seconded his colleague Rep. DeGraaf’s nomination of Bottoms to lead not just Republicans, but the entire General Assembly as Speaker of the House. Summit County Democrat Julie McCluskie won the Speaker’s gavel, which is traditionally unanimous celebration of bipartisanship, by a vote of 55-8, with nearly half of Lynch’s GOP caucus refusing to vote for her.
Between his campaign and his first legislative session, Bottoms made a name for himself as perhaps the most extreme Republican in the statehouse. While running for office he invoked Dominion Voting Systems and China while denying the results of the 2020 election. His attacks on Dominion have continued since his election, including a May 11 podcast in which he falsely claims Dominion Voting machines are responsible for Democratic wins in Colorado and then says that the company “is going to have to be broken up and people are going to have to go to jail until we can get our state back.”
He also blamed demons for local school curricula he opposed, while at the same time repeating a debunked myth that students dressed as “furries” were using litter boxes as toilets at school. Once in office, he joined a conspiracist podcast where he claimed that LGBTQ people are either the result of mental illness, grooming, or sexual abuse.
Bottoms’ claim that he is truly in charge again highlights the well-established rift within the House GOP caucus between its fervently religious right election denier members and the still very conservative but less extreme faction led by Lynch. At the furthest right fringe are Bottoms, DeGraaf, Brandi Bradley of Littleton and Stephanie Luck of Penrose, the only one of the four who isn’t in her first term. While they comprise less than a fourth of the 19-member caucus, the quartet likely has additional political power thanks to their close ties to party chair Dave Williams, a fellow election denier and former legislator who is now ostensibly working as Bradley’s legislative aide.
Bottoms did not respond to voicemail or email requests for comment. This article will be updated with any response received.
