An open seat in Colorado’s 5th Congressional District has led to open warfare within the state Republican Party.

On one side of the GOP primary is Dave Williams, who was elected state party chair last year and now running for Congress. He claims the mantle of the bare-knuckle conservative fighter — and, in doing so, is leveraging the party’s resources to sling invectives at his opponent.

On the other is his rival, Jeff Crank, a longtime radio host and vice president with the influential conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity, with a comparatively simple pitch: Let’s push the Republican cause forward, without turning the party against itself.

Both men have run for the seat before, and both lost to retiring U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn in primary races. The seat is now open for the first time in nearly 20 years, guaranteeing that in the June 25 primary, one of them will finally secure the Republican nomination.

On issues, the two don’t seem far apart. Both tout endorsements that underscore their opposition to abortion and their Second Amendment bona fides on gun rights, and both list immigration as the top issue on their campaign websites.

Crank, 57, acknowledged the similarities at a campaign event Tuesday when he took questions from the audience. But voters might not know it from some of the campaign literature, he suggested, and joked that reading some of the claims caused him to second-guess even his own support for his candidacy.

Williams, 37, did not respond to requests for an interview for this story.

The winner of the primary in the longtime Republican stronghold will face the nominee who emerges from the 5th District’s Democratic primary, which features River Gassen and Joe Reagan.

Crank, who disputed any notion that he falls short on conservative principles at his event, repeatedly has called for Republican unity and an end to intraparty fighting.

While referring to some of Williams’ attacks, Crank said during his event: “I’m not here to tell you that Dave Williams, my opponent, is going to grab your guns. He’s not. He’s pro-Second Amendment, I’m pro-Second Amendment.”

The Colorado Republican Party website’s homepage, meanwhile, opened in recent days to a party newsletter that shows a picture of Crank under the word “globalist,” while featuring Williams and former President Donald Trump under the “MAGA” slogan. Trump has endorsed Williams in the race, as have U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, the El Paso County Republican Party and, of course, the state party — which this year has weighed in on primary races to an unusual degree.

RELATED: Who’s running for Congress in Colorado? Here are the candidates on the June 25 primary ballot.

Crank has backing from Republican U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, former Gov. Bill Owens and Lamborn.

Crank underscored his other conservative tenets to supporters, among them a firm opposition to abortion — except in cases of rape or incest or to protect the mother’s life — and support for the restoration of Trump’s so-called “Remain in Mexico” closed-border policy. He said it would discourage migrants from making the treacherous journey to the United States.

During a debate hosted by Colorado Springs media earlier this month, a moderator asked exactly what separates the two.

Williams responded that he would fight against Democrats and LGBTQ+ Pride events and for Trump, “especially in light of this rigged verdict” in the recent hush-money trial. Crank, by contrast, would be another Washington insider, Williams alleged — emphasizing his ties to Americans for Prosperity, the advocacy organization founded by conservative billionaire Charles Koch and his brother.

“We need to start electing people that are going to take the fight to Democrats and not be timid,” Williams said.

Crank retorted that Williams, instead, is the very definition of an establishment politician: a former state lawmaker and current head of the state Republican Party who’s now looking for a seat in Congress.

Williams sparks GOP revolt

It’s in his current role that Williams has divided his fellow Republicans, with some going so far as calling for his resignation while others have filed formal complaints with the Federal Election Commission.

Lisa Brandt, who hosted the Tuesday meet and greet for Crank in Black Forest, started the event by waving around some mailers that slammed Crank and boosted Williams.

In the top corner of the ads, a disclosure was printed: Paid for by the Colorado Republican Committee, the formal name of the state party.

“The mudslinging in politics really bothers me, personally,” Brandt told the crowd. “I think it’s childish. But what really bothers me, in addition to that, is that the mudslinging is now, I guess, paid for by the Colorado Republican Committee.”

Kelly Maher, a Republican consultant in Denver and executive director of a political action committee aimed at integrity in politics, filed a complaint with the FEC this spring, alleging that Williams was using the party as a “slush fund” for his campaign.

She expects a lengthy process before official action is taken on the complaint but said she wanted to draw a line in the sand.

“(Williams is) flipping the proverbial middle finger to everybody,” Maher said. “Every member of the Republican Party, every other candidate, every other voter. I wish I had the correct adjective for it. Brazen isn’t even enough.”

Williams’ behavior as chair has crossed lines with other Republicans, too, including some predecessors as state party chair. Nancy Pallozzi, chair of the Jefferson County Republican Party, launched a petition calling for Williams’ resignation over the party’s recent call to burn all LGBTQ+ Pride flags. She sought a special meeting of the party central committee to force a vote to replace him, and it’s attracted support from some state lawmakers and congressional candidates. She was censured for the effort late Thursday because she went outside the county party’s executive committee.

“This was about protecting the Republicans in the state and saying that this is not what Republicans stand for,” Pallozzi said. “We are not about hate, and we are not about burning Pride flags or any flags for that matter — and that tweet was just horrible.”

In the June 6 debate, Williams doubled down on his anti-Pride statements and framed it as a religious battle.

“It’s come high time that we fight back against these people and start doing what the Lord would have us do,” Williams said. “… Do you want a feckless person that’s not going to stand up to the Pride Nazis that want to shove this wicked agenda down your throat and your kids’ (throat)?”

Crank, for his part, declares that there are only two genders — a shot against the concept of non-conforming gender identities — and stands against gender-affirming health care for children, while adding: “I don’t know that you can call it ‘care.’ ”

He stands against any state or federal resources going to such care, he said, and promised to at the debate to fight “the woke nonsense at our schools.” He also said at the meet and greet that adults in this country are free people who can otherwise make their own choices.

Outside money bolsters Crank

Crank has been a strong fundraiser, reporting about $507,000 in total contributions from individuals and political action committees through June 5, according to a pre-primary report filed Thursday. Williams, as of his new report, has reported raising a total of nearly $237,000 in contributions through June 5, but that includes a $100,000 candidate loan. Williams had slightly more money left for the final weeks, about $148,000 to Crank’s nearly $137,000.

It’s not apparent from federal election filings how much money the state party has spent to boost Williams’ campaign, and that report isn’t due until next week.

But other independent expenditures have almost universally benefited Crank.

About $2.25 million has been spent either to explicitly support Crank or to oppose Williams’ candidacy, according to FEC filings. More than half of that spending has been by America Leads Action, a super-PAC that’s received support from former Walmart chairman and Denver Broncos co-owner Rob Walton and other conservative activists.

Another $475,000 has come from Americans for Prosperity Action, the political arm of Crank’s employer.

But Crank rejects the idea of any parallel between that spending and the state party’s explicit support of Williams. The Americans for Prosperity PAC exists to get involved in races, and Crank said he was immediately “firewalled” from its activity as soon as he declared his candidacy.

Americans for Prosperity’s PAC is “free to go and raise money … to elect principled conservative candidates,” Crank said — adding that Williams would be, too, if he started a PAC.

“But that’s not what (Williams has) done. He’s hijacked the party to attack members of that party, and that’s just unethical,” Crank said.

The district is historically one of the reddest in the state, having gone for Lamborn by more than 15 percentage points in 2022. But Democrats and independent candidates have made inroads there in recent years, with some Colorado Springs legislative seats flipping blue and Colorado Springs electing political independent Yemi Mobolade as mayor last year.

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Originally Published: June 14, 2024 at 6:00 a.m.