Judge blocks Republicans from voting to remove party leader

A judge on Friday moved to block plans for a Colorado GOP meeting where critics of embattled state Chairman Dave Williams intend to vote to remove him from office.

Arapahoe County District Court Judge Thomas W. Henderson issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the meeting scheduled for Saturday morning at a church in Brighton.

Henderson said his decision “will call into question the leadership of the Colorado Republican Party, leaving the party in disarray nearly 100 days before Election Day on November 5, 2024.”

But meeting organisers say they are still planning the meeting.

Todd Watkins, one of the meeting organizers and a defendant in the lawsuit, emailed members of the GOP State Central Committee that the meeting was still on.

“Our legal advisors have identified a number of factual problems in the purported TRO and are working on responding to the issuing court,” Watkins wrote. “As attorneys work on this, I want to assure everyone that we will meet at the originally advertised time and place.”

Whether the group takes any action at the meeting will depend on the advice of attorneys, Watkins said.

The decision comes after six Republican congressional candidates in the state said Williams should resign as party leader, and U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert suggested in a Facebook post that Williams should step down.

Letter And Facebook Post It was the strongest support yet for efforts to oust Williams, 16 months into his controversial tenure.

“We urge you to resign your position as chairman today. If you do not wish to resign, we urge members of the State Central Committee to remove you by tomorrow, July 27, 2024,” the letter from six congressional candidates and Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen said.

Boebert suggested that national Republicans would also like Williams to step down.

Boebert wrote: “I am willing to publicly help and support Republicans whether I agree with them on every issue or not. If Chairman Williams cannot do that, and refuses to show candidates that he will do that, Republicans in Colorado and nationally will be looking in a different direction for leadership in the final 100 days.”

At least four candidates were in the running for the party presidency at the meeting in Brighton on Saturday.

Signers of the letter calling for Williams’ removal included Jeff Crank, who defeated Williams in the 5th Congressional District primary; State Representative Gabe Evans, who is running in the 8th Congressional District; Jeff Hurd, who is running in the 3rd District; Waldemar Archuleta in the 1st District; Marshall Dawson in the 2nd District; and John Fabricator in the 6th District. Only 7th District GOP candidate Sergei Matveyuk did not sign the letter.

Boebert’s Facebook post denounced the Republican Party’s infighting over Williams.

“It has been shameful to watch the public discontent and infighting in the Colorado Republican Party over the past month, as we have a golden opportunity to flip seats at every level of government this November,” he wrote. “This is not about competition between policies or ideologies; it’s about Chairman Williams’ failure to lead after the primary election and reach out to candidates and organizations in Colorado and beyond to offer support, build bridges, and offer a clear plan of action about how we can win together in November.”

Williams initially faced criticism for her poor fund-raising and for working as a full-time assistant to a state legislator while leading the state Republican Party. Criticism grew even more after her failed bid for Congress.

When U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, announced in January that he would step down, Williams used the state party’s email to announce he would run for the 5th Congressional District seat in El Paso County.

Williams has rejected calls to step down as party chairman, and has spent party money to criticize his opponent in late February, conservative commentator and activist Jeff Crank, and others. In April, Williams kicked a Colorado Sun reporter out of the state party assembly.

For the first time in recent times, if not ever, the Colorado GOP endorsed candidates in competitive primary elections, drawing ire from many in the party. Only four of the 18 candidates endorsed by the party won their contests.

The party spent $58,000 sending three mailings in late May and early June asking voters to support Williams and criticize Crank. Williams donated $60,000 to the party from his campaign account in June, but some questioned whether the mailings violated federal postal regulations.

Williams’ actions resulted in a federal super PAC spending $2.7 million to defeat him in the June 25 primary.

And Two anti-LGBTQ emails in June From the party – together social media posts The call to burn Pride flags — was met with heavy criticism, including from many Republicans.

Crank defeated Williams by 30 percentage points, and is likely to win the general election in a Republican district. He will face Democratic science teacher River Gassen in November.

Following Williams’ loss, El Paso County GOP Vice Chairman Todd Watkins called for a special state central committee meeting on Saturday to remove Williams as state party chairman.

In response, the state said “Approved” by GOP Executive Committee Along with Watkins, Jefferson County GOP Chairwoman Nancy Pallozzi also called on Williams to step down.

Williams called Saturday’s meeting in Brighton a “fraud.” Party leaders have scheduled a rival GOP committee meeting in Bayfield for July 19, led by Vice Chairwoman Hope Skapelman. Bayfield meeting was held under a bridgeand only a handful attended. The group took no action other than adjourning until a previously scheduled Central Committee meeting in August.

Williams filed suit in state District Court to stop Saturday’s meeting on July 18. An Arapahoe County District Court judge denied Williams’ request for an injunction against the meeting on Thursday night.

Williams and his supporters urged Republicans not to attend the meeting in Brighton, which was scheduled for 9 a.m. Harvest Fellowship Church,

The Republican infighting in Colorado comes after a Michigan Republican was ousted from his position. party president in Januarya move that the Republican National Committee upheld.

Those who have said they would run for Republican Party chairmanship if Williams were removed include:

• State Representative Richard Holtorf, one of five people Boebert defeated in the 4th Congressional District
• Eli Bremer, former El Paso County Chairman, who has a list of officials running with him
• Douglas County GOP Chairman Steve Peck, who has the support of former GOP Chairwoman Christy Burton Brown
• Former Routt County Treasurer Brita Horn.

This is a developing story that may be updated.