The Douglas County Republican Party promoted a white supremacist conspiracy known as the Great Replacement Theory on its Facebook page Wednesday.
The conspiracy, which has been debunked repeatedly claims that Democrats are actively importing migrants to win elections. More than just inaccurate, the conspiracy is flat-out dangerous: it’s been cited by multiple mass shooters, including those in Buffalo and Pittsburgh, as the reason for their rampages.
DougCo GOP Chairman Steve Peck did not respond to an email request for comment as to whether he believes this replacement is happening now or simply could happen in the future, whether he believes immigrants are casting illegal votes immediately upon arrival and whether he has any concerns at all about the post. This article will be updated with any response received.
The post generated just 17 engagements, but one of those was from Ryan Gonzalez, a Republican candidate for House District 50 in Weld County, who responded with the “sad” emoji. Gonzalez did not respond to an email request asking for comment on his response to the post. This article will be updated with any response received.
The Colorado Times Recorder also reached out via email to the Douglas County Commissioners, all three of whom are Republicans, for comment. As of publication none of them responded, but any response will be added upon receipt.
Democratic state Rep. Bob Marshall, who represents Douglas County, described the post as antithetical to our nation’s values and quoted George Washington to make his point, referring to our first president with the Latin version of his honorific, “first among equals.”
“The acknowledged primus inter pares of the Founding Fathers observed that the United States gives “to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance,” says Marshall. “For while we have border and migration issues that must be addressed, to use the issue to stoke political tensions based upon a primitive fear of ‘the other’ or ‘foreigners’ spits in the face and tramples upon everything that makes our country unique and special. It is particularly unAmerican.”
In a new report released today, Media Matters notes that in recent weeks right-wing pundits and media outlets have ramped up promotion of the replacement conspiracy, which has also been promoted by U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), citing numerous examples of its appearance on Fox News, OAN, and other conservative sites.
In 2021, the Jefferson County Republican Party deleted a cartoon that briefly appeared on its Facebook page pushing the Great Replacement conspiracy theory.
