As the Denver Post’s Chris Osher reports, a wild morning for Republicans at today’s Colorado General Assembly leadership elections yielded some unexpected developments–and some, well not so unexpected:
State House Republicans on Thursday opted to choose one of their more conservative members as minority leader, rejecting a representative who raised $1.5 million for legislative races this year and has held a leadership post.
During a caucus at the statehouse on Wednesday, Republicans voted in as minority leader Rep. Patrick Neville of Castle Rock. Neville’s family has ties to Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, a gun-rights organization that has a take-no prisoners reputation in legislative races. His brother, Tim, has been a lobbyist for that group.
Rep. Polly Lawrence of Douglas County, who had been assistant minority leader in the House, chose not to put her name up for minority leader. She had been a prolific fund raiser for Republicans during this election cycle.
The selection of Rep. Patrick Neville as House Minority Leader is not a good sign for bipartisan comity in the chamber, but it’s another big win for the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners-Neville clan alliance that has seen some hard times this year. Safe to say, Neville as House Minority Leader is not what Bob Beauprez invested all that money in GOP primaries to bring about.
In the Colorado Senate, a troika of white dudes take control: Kevin Grantham elected as the new President of the GOP’s enduring 18-17 majority, Chris Holbert as Majority Leader, and Jerry “Eye Candy” Sonnenberg replacing the outgoing Sen. Ellen Roberts as Senate President pro tem. One of the Senate’s most loquacious and intransigent conservatives, Kevin Lundberg, joins Kent Lambert on the Joint Budget Committee.
What did you expect? It’s not like Donald Trump was going to teach them any lessons.
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Patrick Neville? Oi vey.
The Republicans in our legislature were clearly too busy celebrating Donald Trump's win to pay attention to how they fared here in Colorado. Donald Trump was rejected in Colorado at every stage of his campaign from caucus to general election. They maintained their one seat advantage in the senate, lost three seats in the House. Colorado sent every incumbent back to Washington including a moderate Democrat who was running against a hard right conservative who claimed he was running against evil. In spite of their mediocre performance they have nominated the most extreme members of their caucus to leadership positions.
Colorado was light blue before this election and it remains so now.
Correction to the Denver Post portion.
Correction to the Post's story:
Tim Neville is Patrick's father and a state Senator (who tried to run for US Senate and failed).
Joe Neville is Patrick's brother and is a lobbyist for the RMGO. He’s the one who got in the squabble with then Rep. Cheri Gerou.
Interesting that the R's are so anxious to do the RMGO's bidding. RMGO only won 2 of 5 races that they supported this year in the general and lost half their primary contests.
The bottom line to all this is that is that the Republicans still control the State Senate and the Democrats still control the State House. No one is more relieved than Governor John Hickenlooper. Now, he won't have to veto many, if any bills, because the whacko bills — by the Left and the Right — will be killed in the opposing chamber.
I think that will bode well for the residents of Colorado.