November 07, 2023 11:10 AM UTC

Will Colorado Republicans Endorse Trump Early?

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• by: Colorado Pols

Ernest Luning of the Colorado Springs Gazette’s political blog has one of the only news reports available on last weekend’s Colorado Republican Party annual fundraising dinner, headlined by Arizona election denier who nonetheless still wants to run in elections Kari Lake and Colorado’s leading coup groupie Rep. Lauren Boebert. Since the event was closed to the press, the only thing we know about what took place is what Colorado GOP chairman Dave “Let’s Go Brandon” Williams bothers to tell us–and that as of this writing consists solely of the result of the straw poll of attendees won overwhelmingly by ex-President Donald Trump:

Trump received 87% of the vote, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis trailing at 8% in the non-scientific poll, conducted online using electronic balloting, Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams told Colorado Politics.

In the presidential poll, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy finished in third place with a little over 2% of the vote, followed by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who each received a single vote, for less than 1%. None of the other Republicans seeking the 2024 presidential nomination — including former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Bergum — were listed on the ballot, Williams said.

The straw poll was held among donors to the state party’s annual Centennial Dinner in Loveland, which featured speeches by last year’s Arizona gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, the Rifle Republican seeking a third term next year in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District.

Naturally, we’ve got our ear to the ground for any video that might surface from these blusterous “Big Lie” loving keynote speakers. The night before Saturday’s totally unscientific straw poll, Chairman Williams appeared on outer-orbit fringe MAGA agitator Laura Loomer–the same Laura Loomer who recently slammed Lauren Boebert for “selling out” to ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy–where Williams was pressured by Loomer about the Colorado Republican Party formally endorsing Trump. And rather than stay neutral and let Republican primary voters decide, Williams through the official mouthpiece of the party seems favorable:

Here’s a transcript of the back-and-forth between Loomer and Williams on Friday, in which Williams claims to be bound by current party rules that don’t allow for the endorsement of candidates before the primary–but hints at the possibility of changing those rules in light of Trump’s commanding lead in the polls:

WILLIAMS: The rules require us to wait for the primary to play out. But I assure you that happens. We’ll make we’ll make it known where we’re at. If you go to my personal Twitter, you’ll see my picture with Donald Trump. So you can probably guess where I’m at. [Pols emphasis]

LOOMER: And I know you have to walk a tight line because of your position and whatnot. But, you know, you just argue that this is going to play out in the primary. And this is why we absolutely have to make sure that Donald Trump gets through the primary, because this is going to play out in the general. Right. This lawsuit. And they’re able to make it go all the way to the Supreme Court. So given the fact that we are in unprecedented times, don’t you think that now is the time to disregard these antiquated GOP rules? I mean, these the fact the fact that we are even entertaining this ridiculous primary itself is so absurd. The senators, Nikki Haley, everybody is polling at 8% nationally and Donald Trump has a 55 point lead. So I just think that the American people and also the GOP base, which is pro-Trump, they’re looking for leaders right now. They’re looking for people that are bold, that are going to say, enough of this GOP rhino bullshit. It’s time to endorse Donald Trump, the leader of the party, and take a stand against election interference. And so is that something that perhaps, you know, maybe Colorado could lead the way, the Colorado GOP could lead the way in being very forceful, indirectly endorsing President Trump?

WILLIAMS: I mean, I think I think it’s a fair point to be made. And I think you’re seeing a lot of that happen right now, that the you know, I don’t even know anyone who’s really going to watch the presidential debate. [Pols emphasis] That’s coming up next week.

LOOMER: We’re going to be in Miami and Hialeah. We’re going to be at the Trump rally. Yeah, by the way, watching this, President Trump is having a rally on November 8th in Miami. Well, Hialeah, of course, which is like little Cuba. He’s used to work up in Hialeah, but he’s having a rally at the same exact time as the presidential debate. So you’re right, no one’s going to watch it. Everybody is just going to be watching the Trump rally.

WILLIAMS: Right. Right. I mean, getting get to answer your question, I as much as I could agree with you in principle, I am bound by my rules and I’m bound by the membership that elected me. And they haven’t changed those rules yet. I think there’s an appetite growing for those rules to change. [Pols emphasis] But until they do, I got to I got to.

Changing the rules to allow the party to endorse a candidate before the primary would be entirely consistent with the range of proposed rule changes backed by Williams intended to choke off unaffiliated participation and use the assembly process to empower far-right candidates who have traditionally dominated there only to lose the primary election. It wouldn’t be a stretch for Williams to short-circuit his own party’s primary for Trump. Trump’s massive and sustained lead in Republican primary polling despite his mounting legal problems is prompting his supporters to increasingly call for the debates among the other candidates to end–essentially for Trump to be given the same deference as an incumbent.

In Dave Williams’ mind, Trump is the rightful President. You can’t count on rules to hold either of them back.