January 09, 2015 11:17 AM UTC

Steve House Challenging Ryan Call for State GOP Chair

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• by: Colorado Pols

State Republican Chair Ryan Call looks to have serious opposition in his bid for re-election from former Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve House.

We told you this fight was coming back in December; despite a pretty successful 2014, Republican Party activists are not sold on Call and are not happy that he continues to take home a hefty salary for a position that was never intended to be a full-time job. As we wrote last month:

Republican activists remain irritated at the hefty salary awarded to their Party Chairman, a practice that began in 2007 when Dick Wadhams was elected Chair and pushed through changes to the Party bylaws that turned a largely-volunteer position into a full-time job. The State Republican Party was a mess when Wadhams took over, which made it much easier for Wadhams to advocate for a "temporary" change that would allow him to earn more money in a sort-of dual role as Chairman and Executive Director. But the "temporary" change initiated by Wadhams wasn't altered when Call succeeded Wadhams as Chair in 2011; in fact, the Republican Party (via the Colorado Republican Committee) now pays monthly salaries for Call as Chairman and Shana Kohn as Executive Director. Democrats also now employ a full-time Chairman and Executive Director, though the salaries are considerably higher for the GOP.

This looks like it's headed for a full-on battle, with House already claiming he has the support of Attorney General Cynthia Coffman (see image at right from Facebook). House is independently wealthy and doesn't need to take the same salary that Call has enjoyed for years, and that may end up being the major sticking point rather than Republican success at the ballot box.