Could an agreement between libertarians and the Republican Party to work together in tight election battles and topple some Democrat overlords really work and return true diversity of thought, governance, and sanity to our state?
Apparently, conservatives and libertarians alike are desperate enough to try just about anything to keep our state from turning into San Francisco.
The deal struck by GOP Chairman Dave Williams goes something like this; if a Republican is engaged in a competitive race where a Libertarian candidate’s votes would make a difference in winning or losing, like it might have in the 8th District Congressional race last year won by Democrat Yadira Caraveo, the libertarian will bow out of the election.
Caraveo won by 0.7 percent, while Libertarian Richard Ward’s took 4 percent of the vote and Republican candidate Barb Kirkmeyer lost.
We negotiated an unprecedented deal with @LPCO that if we run more limited-government & pro-liberty nominees they won’t run spoiler candidates.
Together we can break the stranglehold of Democrats’ one-party rule over Colorado. #copolitics #Liberty @LPNational @ComicDaveSmith pic.twitter.com/Ciq7yVXpv5
— Colorado Republican Party (@cologop) June 13, 2023
Of course, the trick will be to ensure the Republican candidate is someone the Libertarians can stomach. They are adamant in insisting the Republican be a strong liberty minded, anti-establishment candidate. If not, they reserve the right to run their own candidate.
🧵 Fact check time!
Dems haven’t lowered income tax, or legalized cannabis or psilocybin centers. Those were ALL citizen ballot initiatives.
Notably, the push to lower income tax comes from the Independence Institute, which has no Democratic affiliation whatsoever. https://t.co/0JPl1RSFxu
— Libertarian Party of Colorado (@LPCO) June 13, 2023
Former Colorado GOP Chairman Dick Wadhams questioned whether Williams is the best arbiter of what constitutes as a winning Republican who deserves to run unchallenged by a Libertarian.
Reports Colorado Politics:
“After watching Williams attack people like Congressman Doug Lamborn and former Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers in the last couple weeks, count me as somewhat leery about him deciding on his own that a Republican candidate does not support individual liberties,” Wadhams said.
“It’s nice he’s spending time on this, but it doesn’t go to what really ails the Colorado Republican Party, which is Donald Trump and people who refuse to acknowledge the cold hard reality that Donald Trump has defined the last four election cycles in Colorado for Colorado Republicans.”
Republicans also seem to forget that many who share some of their foundational beliefs don’t want to be associated with any political party preferring to remain independent.
In Colorado ⤵️
Unaffiliated Voters: 1,801,956
Libertarian Voters: 39,830#COpolitics https://t.co/zhBgY4sR8x pic.twitter.com/2weSjP1iPz— Sage Naumann (@SageNaumann) June 13, 2023