Colorado Republican Chair Dave Williams today announced he’s selected Tom Bjorklund as the party’s new Treasurer. Bjorklund, a longtime political operative from Grand Junction, is an election fraud conspiracist who participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
As the newly elected Chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, Dave Williams is making the obligatory rounds of the state’s numerous conservative talk radio shows. For the past two weeks, he’s been introducing himself to the party faithful, sharing his vision for revamping the state GOP, and taking some tough questions from the likes of George Brauchler, Deborah Flora, Dan Caplis, Peter Boyles and other mic-wielding Republicans from both wings of his party.
When he decided not to seek another term as leader of the Colorado Republican Party, Dick Wadhams wrote in a 2011 good-riddance letter to fellow Republicans that he was tired of GOP activists who see “conspiracies around every corner.” (Emphasis: That was 2011.)
UPDATE: In another radio interview, Williams clarified the role he envisions for Peters: bringing in dollars from her “national network of well funded friends.” See below for details.
This year was the second year in a row that Colorado Republicans have attempted to pass legislation criminalizing abortion in Colorado. Rep. Scott Bottoms’ (R-CO Springs) bill, “Abolishing Abortion in Colorado,” was a repeat of former Rep. Dave Williams’ (R-CO Springs) bill in 2022. Both bills featured testimony from Jeff Durbin of End Abortion Now and members of Colorado Right to Life, and both bills died in Democrat-controlled committees.
The future of the Colorado Republican Party appears to be focused on restricting voting and perpetuating the unfounded claim of widespread election conspiracy. The six candidates vying to head the state’s GOP spoke last Wednesday night at a forum held in Parker on the direction they would take the party–all of whom vowed to close primaries to unaffiliated voters and investigate voter fraud within the state.
Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric is on the rise across the U.S. and in Colorado, and drag shows have become a central target of the right. Conservatives have attacked and vilified drag shows and performers, saying they are part of a left-wing effort to indoctrinate children through grooming.
This year, leading conservatives have waged war on LQBTQ people in Colorado. Here is a sample of recent stories in the Colorado Times Recorder about hostility or outright bigotry toward members of our LGBTQ community.
In a radio interview this month, Priscilla Rahn, vice chair of the Colorado Republican Party, urged GOP voters to cast their ballots along party lines, regardless of whether they share candidates’ values and positions.
In El Paso County, home of more Republican voters than any other county in Colorado, one might assume that the winner of the Republican primary would have a clear path to victory in November, but you would be wrong.
