Ernest Luning at Colorado Politics covers what can only be described as a GOP food fight disguised as a State Central Committee meeting. The question before the committee: whether the Colorado Republican Party should “opt out” of the 2026 primary and nominate candidates strictly through assembly and convention. The law requires 75% support of the State Central Committee to opt out. The “opt-out” camp pulled only about 45%. That’s not a win. That’s barely half a loaf, and the other half is moldy.
But the real story wasn’t the math. It was the meltdown. Members booed, shouted, accused each other of betrayal, and, in true Colorado GOP fashion, forgot to rent the CU lecture hall for enough time. The meeting was shut down by campus security after members ran over their reservation. Both sides then staggered out claiming victory. If you want to know why Republicans keep losing elections in Colorado, look no further than this traveling circus.
The Bullet Point Brief
- State law (Prop 108, passed in 2016) allows unaffiliated voters to cast ballots in primaries unless 75% of the central committee opts out. The opt-out faction got 45%. Not even close.
- Chaos reigned: booing, shouting, procedural brawls, accusations of betrayal. And yes, campus security had to shut it down because the party didn’t book enough room time.
- Democrats, by contrast, don’t even debate opting out. They understand that alienating half the electorate – unaffiliateds – is suicide. Colorado Republicans apparently think suicide is a growth strategy.
- The lawsuit strategy challenging Prop 108 on First Amendment grounds is solid. That’s the lane. Not telling millions of unaffiliated voters that their opinions don’t matter. That’s a fast-track ticket to permanent irrelevance.
- Instead of channeling the energy of the Charlie Kirk movement, the Colorado GOP wastes its time on purity tests and internal food fights. It’s Jerry Springer, not Ronald Reagan.
My Bottom Line
Julie and I are both State Central Committee bonus members, but we missed this particular spectacle because our son decided to move to Kansas. Thank God. From every report and from Ernest’s piece, this meeting wasn’t serious deliberation – it was a toddler tantrum in a CU lecture hall. Representative Lori Garcia Sander carried our proxies, and after enduring that mess, I owe her dinner.
Here’s the truth: if the Colorado GOP put half the energy into fighting Democrats as it does into fighting each other, we might actually win something. Instead, we’re locked in endless screaming matches over artificial purity tests. My beloved party is in a minority, not because voters don’t like conservative ideas, but because Republicans insist on acting like clowns in the big tent.
On “opting out,” let’s be real. I opposed Prop 108 in 2016. But Coloradans voted for it, and it is law. If you want to challenge it, the lawsuit arguing First Amendment associational rights is a smart path. But telling over half of Colorado’s electorate – unaffiliated voters – that their opinions don’t matter is suicide. You don’t win by shrinking your audience. You don’t grow by closing the tent.
And what’s worse? This whole “opt out” circus ignores the obvious. After Charlie Kirk’s assassination, his movement is energizing conservatives in Colorado like never before. I wrote about this very thing very recently. The Charlie Kirk wing of the party is our viable future. But instead of riding that wave, the party insists on punching itself in the face. This is stupidity on stilts.
Until the Colorado GOP stops staging these embarrassing internal cage matches and starts focusing on voters, we’ll keep being irrelevant. And Democrats won’t even have to break a sweat – they can just watch us implode while they cash their majority checks.
