COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — During a recent primary debate, congressional candidate Dave Williams took the microphone and unleashed the same MAGA arguments that made him from former state representative to chairman of the Republican Party of Colorado.
“Right now we are fighting a battle for the soul of our party,” Williams said.
Williams’ zeal and deployment of former President Donald Trump’s combative political style as state party chairman have torn the Republican Party in Colorado, mirroring the Trump-shaped divide in the national Republican Party.
But recent brazen maneuvers by Williams, including using his position as chairman to try to insinuate himself into Congress, have fueled tensions. Some Republican officials in Colorado became enthralled, while others demanded Williams’ resignation.
Through it all, Williams has caught Trump’s attention, a fact he didn’t let the crowd forget during the debate against his Republican rival for a seat in the Colorado House, Jeff Crank.
“I’m Dave Williams. I am chairman of the Republican Party of Colorado. And I am also the Trump-backed candidate,” he said in his first remarks during Thursday’s debate, later citing Trump’s cell phone number stored in his own phone.
Crank tried to make sure the public didn’t forget the firestorm surrounding Williams, citing Williams’ refusal to step down as party chairman after joining the primary, allegedly using the state party’s email list to promote his to announce a campaign for Congress and spend party money to buy mailers attacking Crank.
“My opponent has spent too much time fighting Republicans other than Democrats,” Crank said. “Where is all the money to fight the Democrats? It goes to him, it goes into his pocket and it goes to his campaign.”
Williams’ maneuvers ignored state party norms across the US
“He’s cannibalizing the Republican Party so he can get to Congress,” said Kelly Maher, a veteran GOP operative who has filed a complaint against Williams with the Federal Elections Commission.
A statement from the Williams campaign did not respond to the complaint’s allegations, instead hurling expletives at Crank and calling the complaint an attempt “to generate fake news.”
William’s rise and campaign reflect the national division within the Republican Party between a more combative MAGA flank, which also includes Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, and more traditional Republicans, some of whom, like Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, are congressional escaped. while citing the new divisions in their party.
Whoever wins in the Republican primary on June 25 because the reliably Republican seat is being vacated by retiring Rep. Doug Lamborn will likely win the general election. Williams unsuccessfully challenged Lamborn in the 2022 primary when a judge barred him from listing his name on the ballot as Dave “Let’s Go Brandon” Williams.
“The Republican Party of Colorado, in my opinion, especially under Williams’ leadership, has been forced to ask questions that they have never grappled with before,” said state Rep. Matt Soper, a Republican who worked with Williams in the Statehouse. “What kind of Republican Party do we want to be?”
Williams’ tenure has left Colorado’s Republican Party embroiled in public infighting, motivated in no small part by his own attacks on fellow Republicans. While avoiding news interviews, Williams has sent short statements that amount to rants against rival Republicans, Democrats or the media.
Some Republicans appreciate the defense of the party’s conservative core against more moderate Republicans who they say are clouding the movement and failing voters.
“We’ve had decades of Republicans telling us they were going to limit government, and they didn’t,” Williams said during the debate, as some audience members murmured in agreement.
That agenda has pushed Williams to wade beyond the traditional scope of a state party chairman. State parties tend to stay out of primaries, at least publicly, giving voters breathing room to choose their candidates. Under Williams, the Colorado Republican Party supported Republican primary candidates over others.
That included Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, who faced her own accusations of opportunistic maneuvering after jumping through congressional districts. Boebert falls close politically to Williams as a staunch, far-right congressman, aligned with Gaetz.
In April, Williams ejected a journalist from an official Republican Party meeting, sparking national outrage and disapproval among Colorado Republicans, including Boebert’s main opponent, Deborah Flora. The state party then announced its support of Boebert over Flora.
Seth Masket, a political scientist at the University of Denver, noted that while political parties are supposed to be neutral, they often informally support one candidate or the other in internal primaries. Williams has erased even the appearance of neutrality, he said.
“Boundaries are definitely being crossed,” Masket said. “Williams does it in a much more open and official way. There’s nothing subtle about it.”
Kolby Zipperer, chairman of the Young Republicans of El Paso County, attended Thursday’s debate. As he entered the room, the 35-year-old Zipperer leaned toward Crank, partly concerned about the accusations of a lack of integrity against Williams.
“If I hear anything along the lines of you being a king, or you breaking the rules for your own benefit. If I heard the same thing about (Crank), I would have the same problem,” Zipperer said.
But by the end of the event, it was a piece of cake for Zipperer, who appreciated Williams’ calmness and talkative points. While Williams may reflect Trump’s fiery attitude in statements and social media posts, in front of an audience he is more balanced.
“If he’s lying, he’s cheating on me,” he said, adding that he also really likes Crank. “It’s like trying to choose two stepfathers.”
Former Colorado GOP Chair Kristi Burton Brown doesn’t see the Trump-anti-Trump divide as a Trump-anti-Trump divide, saying she supports Trump not because of the former president’s political style, but mainly because of his appointments and policy at the U.S. Supreme Court during his time. in the office.
“You can embrace that without thinking, ‘Oh good.’ Now our entire party must take a fighting stance and shove your face into the dirty style,” Brown said. “Hate and division ultimately blow up in their own faces.”
___
Bedayn is a staff member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.