Nationally, Republican leaders urged former President Donald Trump and other GOP candidates to focus on policy differences and stop attacking Vice President Kamala Harris over her personal identity. A handful of Republicans had suggested she was a “DEI hire” chosen solely because of her race and gender, even though she has been in public office five times longer than her opponent.
Guess who didn’t get the “stick to the issues” memo? Colorado Republican Chairman Dave Williams. The party recently sent out a shameful email attacking Vivian Smotherman, the Democrat running for the 6th Senate District, as a “DEI candidate.” Smotherman identifies as gender-neutral and uses female pronouns.
This is not the first time Colorado Republicans under Williams’ leadership have heaped crude personal insults on their opponents. The good news is that Republicans, including Smotherman’s Republican opponent, are increasingly rejecting Williams’ tactics and may soon oust him from the leadership position altogether.
After Republicans sent the email, Smotherman’s Republican opponent, State Senator Cleave Simpson, called his opponent to criticize the email, which he had no prior knowledge of or approval of. He told the Colorado Sun, “I’ve been a Republican my whole life, and a big part of my thinking about running for re-election was to show that if you’re a conservative Republican under the gold dome, you can still be successful. If you treat people with dignity and respect, you can still have some small victories.”
Simpson was not the only thoughtful Republican member of the General Assembly who was able to score points last session by engaging seriously with the majority on behalf of his constituency rather than putting on cheap and petty political theater for a fringe audience.
Instead of pursuing ethical and effective methods, Williams and his staff have targeted unworthy and inept methods, and have had resounding success. During the primaries, Williams spent party funds on his own congressional campaign—after losing the primary, he compensated the party, but the damage was already done—and he supported his cronies in other contested Republican primaries—leaving the many Republicans who won without his support with battle scars for the general election.
Williams was also responsible for spreading disgusting messages against LGBT people, calling them “godless groomers” who want to “harm our children” and calling on Republicans to burn gay pride flags. Fortunately, Williams and most of his friends lost their primaries and no one’s property went up in smoke.
Meanwhile, Republican candidates have not received the support the party should be providing, such as help accessing donors and volunteers or getting messages across. In some cases, the party’s messages reflect not the candidate’s values but the leader’s penchant for insults and his strange obsession with other people’s sexual identities.
Republicans have had enough. El Paso County Vice Chairman Todd Watkins, Jefferson County Republican Chair Nancy Pallozzi and others have been working since June to convene at least 25% of committee members to meet to remove Williams from the chair due to several blatant ethics violations.
Watkins and Pallozzi wanted to meet in late July, but Williams filed suit, arguing the meeting was not properly called. Arapahoe County District Court Judge Thomas Henderson issued a temporary restraining order. This week he lifted the injunction, and the party will meet this weekend. With any luck, Williams will file for unemployment benefits by the time the Sunday paper is printed. Perhaps a DEI office somewhere is looking for a middle-aged politician with little work experience.
Krista L. Kafer writes weekly columns for the Denver Post. Follow her on X: @kristakafer.
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