Editor’s Note: This story originally published June 4, 2023.
The Colorado Republican Party appears stuck in a fiscal mire following a disastrous election in November and with a newly elected chair.
The Colorado Republican Party reported just $57,648.58 in total contributions in the first four months of the year. Most of the money, nearly $33,000, came from unitemized, small-dollar donations. In that same time, the party reported spending nearly $260,000, according to recent Federal Election Commission filings.
The fundraising lag isn’t necessarily a surprise to some Republican operatives — an electoral shellacking in November leaves little for donors to get excited about, and the divisive new chair, who falsely asserts former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election, has alienated some long-time Republicans. But the depths of the financial woes raised eyebrows.
In April, the first full month of new chair Dave Williams’ tenure, the party reported raising $14,862 while spending $15,392 — both notable lows in financial activity, though not the depths of fundraising this year. In January, following former chair Kristi Burton Brown’s announcement that she wouldn’t seek another term leading the state party, the GOP reported raising less than $4,000. Fundraising picked up to about $14,240 in February before hitting a 2023-high of nearly $25,000 in March, the month party faithful met in Loveland for an organizational meeting.
In all, it’s the worst fundraising run for the Colorado Republican Party in at least two years.
Spending likewise hit a drastic low under Williams: Just over $15,000 for the month of April. The party had been spending an average of about $132,000 per month in the two preceding years, sometimes buoyed by party conventions or electoral efforts, but always many times more than April’s reported total. The next lowest recent spending month was about $50,000 in August 2021 — a time of summer doldrums and no pending elections. Williams did not return a request for comment.
The stalled spending included zero on mailers, zero on office supplies and zero on payroll, including for Williams, according to federal filings. More than $9,000 was spent on benefits, however, about double what was spent on average for that line item. The apparent lack of staff was first reported by the Colorado Sun.
In contrast, the Colorado Democratic Party — fresh off an unexpected strengthening of their state legislative majorities and a repeated sweep of state constitutional offices — raised almost five times as much as the GOP to kick off this year. It received nearly $257,000, in total contributions in the first quarter of the year. In April alone, the Colorado Democratic Party reported raising nearly $92,000.
The disparity translated into cash-on-hand. Democrats began May with nearly $200,000 in the bank, while Republicans had about 60% of that, or about $120,000.
It’s not unusual for donations to crater after a poor election showing or when a new party chairman is elected, Republican officials said.
“It takes some time for the next chair to come in and pitch a plan and see if people latch onto it and if they think it’s something they’re willing to commit their money to,” said Burton Brown, who served as state party chair from 2020 until March, when she stepped down.
What’s more unusual, Burton Brown said, is for the party to evidently have no paid staffers. Usually, she said, there are at least two people on the payroll: the chair and an executive director.
What’s more, Burton Brown said that some national Republican groups — who help coordinate fundraising and campaign efforts — were “concerned with the leadership change,” though she declined to name the groups or characterize their concerns. Messages sent to the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is tasked with helping defend and flip seats, such as the sure-to-be-targeted districts currently held by Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert and Democrat Rep. Yadira Caraveo, were not returned this week. An official with the Republican National Committee said there were no problems with the state party in Colorado.
Sage Naumann, a Republican consultant with the 76 Group, said the state party’s fundraising woes go beyond a simple leadership change and recent electoral losses. If there’s solace, he said, it’s that having a strong party isn’t vital to winning elections or championing conservative causes in the state.
“Listen, it would be difficult under any circumstances, regardless of who would be chairman,” agreed Dick Wadhams, the chair of the state party from 2007 to 2011. “And yet I think the challenge is aggravated by the background of the newly elected chair. He’s a strong defender of the stolen election conspiracy theories, he continues to defend Tina Peters who’s been criminally indicted. … When you add all that up, I just don’t know whether the donors are going to donate to a party that’s being led by someone with those viewpoints. He’s the newly elected chairman, he’s got to figure out how he’s going to finance this party. Otherwise, it’s going to be a shell for two years.”
Burton Brown said she had set aside enough money to cover the organization’s financial obligations — like rent and the party’s central committee meetings — through the end of her term in mid-March. Since Williams took over, the party’s dropped its longtime accounting firm and has cut back on other expenses.
The organization still appears to be renting its Greenwood Village office space. The building’s property manager confirmed that the space is still being used by the party, but when a reporter visited Wednesday afternoon, the door was locked, the room was dark and no one answered the doorbell.
Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter, The Spot.
