Colorado Republicans have taken to arms and dug in deep ahead of the 2026 election. And the ring of shots around their circular firing squad is almost deafening.
For nearly a decade and half the GOP in Colorado has been in freefall. After losing and losing and losing again to Democrats in elections across the state, they have focused on the one major party they know can be beaten: themselves.
The latest iteration is in the midst of a daytime television cliffhanger. Two separate meetings were set to debate the ouster of current GOP Chair Brita Horn. Composed of roughly 500 activists across the state, the Republican central committee has been split between its pragmatic wing and the far-right for decades. However, over the past five years the acrimony has intensified exponentially.
When Dave Williams took the chair’s gavel in 2023, he brought braggadocio and contempt to the position. He spent more time attacking his detractors than raising money. He paid himself and his friends before siphoning off resources for his own congressional race.
Fed up Republicans, led by Horn, pushed for Williams’ removal. Several months and court hearings later, they accomplished just that and later installed Horn to take his place. Now, as I predicted at the time, many of Williams’ allies have returned for Horn’s head.
Last weekend a meeting dominated by the more pugnacious members overwhelmingly approved a “no confidence” in Horn vote. Because Horn and her allies claim the meeting had no basis in official rules, they will do it all over again a week later.
It is one good soliloquy away from being Shakespearean.
Intraparty fights are not new. They were a part of the political landscape before the founding of our country and will be far after we are gone. It is a feature of democracy, a needed infusion of competing ideas. The alternative can be seen in national Republicans today — too afraid to step out of line and oppose President Donald Trump.
And if they stray just a little outside the lines? Just ask the folks in southeastern Colorado. After Rep. Lauren Boebert persisted in her support of the Epstein Files discharge petition, Trump cut off funds to keep carcinogens out of the drinking water. Apparently cancer and a public health crisis ranked higher on his list than Boebert.
Or what about Rep. Jeff Hurd who has repeatedly bucked Trump on tariffs?
Trump not only snatched his endorsement away from Hurd, but tossed it to his primary opponent, Hope Scheppelman. And who is Scheppelman? She was the Colorado GOP’s Vice-Chair under Williams, swept out by Horn & Co.
What goes around comes around.
While Hurd would be high on the list to win Mr. Congenial in Congress, that may be a hindrance now that Scheppelman has Trump’s backing. Like Williams, she is a firebrand who relishes outlandish behavior, offensive statements and conspiracy theories.
In other words, she is representative of many Republican primary voters. Boebert rode the same wave to victory over a milquetoast congressman in 2020 before tucking tail and running across the state when her antics almost lost CD3 for the GOP.
Scheppelman does not have Boebert’s charisma, camera-presence or Beto O’Rourke to beat up on. But she does have nearly $150,000 cash on hand, Trump’s endorsement and a base of rabid activists who likely view Hurd as a RINO more worthy of their disdain than any Democrat. That can be a potent combination.
Of course, she also may turn winning into more Republican losing.
Recent polls show generic Democrats with a huge 8-point lead on Republicans in congressional races. That would not just swamp Rep. Gabe Evans in CD6, but it would put Rep. Jeff Crank in CD5 and anyone in CD3 in jeopardy. Hurd beat Adam Frisch by only five points in 2024. If Scheppelman gets the nod, expect the Democratic nominee — likely Alex Kelloff — to see a firehose of money pout into the race.
Even talking about just these congressional races demonstrates just how many holes the Colorado Republican Party has shot in its foot. This year we have all four major statewide elected offices up for election. No rational pundit believes that any Republican has a chance of winning.
For example, the winner of the Democratic gubernatorial primary could be pitted against Rep. Scott Bottoms — a Republican who has trafficked in such ugly, baseless claims about secret pedophilia rings that even Jeffrey Epstein’s corpse must be blushing.
The only question in that race is whether Bottoms could potentially push the Republican Party into bottoming out below the 10% mark necessary to maintain major party status in Colorado.
Whether Republican Party leaders take aim anymore or simply fire blind makes little difference. The only candidates they endanger anymore are their own.
Mario Nicolais is an attorney and columnist who writes on law enforcement, the legal system, health care and public policy. Follow him on BlueSky: @MarioNicolais.bsky.social.
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