Colorado’s top elected Republicans are in disarray … much like the rest of their party. On Wednesday, after days of infighting, Republican Minority Leader Mike Lynch resigned, saying, “It is with a heavy heart that I make this decision, but I firmly believe that our caucus is stronger when we stand and fight together for the people of Colorado.”
Is the caucus “stronger?” Let us walk down memory lane—of just the last few days.
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Monday saw the very far-right state Rep. Scott Bottoms—a man who claimed Planned Parenthood made money by selling aborted fetus parts, an obviously debunked myth—make a motion to take a no-confidence vote of the less far-right Lynch. The vote ended in a tie with one member absent. The move came just a couple of weeks after Lynch announced he would be entering the June primary against fellow Republican Lauren Boebert to succeed the retiring Ken Buck in the 4th Congressional District.
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Tuesday’s attempt to oust Lynch went off the rails after not enough members of the caucus showed up to make a quorum, which was apparently premeditated, according to Colorado Politics. This led to a new caucus meeting being scheduled for Thursday morning over Bottoms’ objections, and other attempts to have a vote Wednesday. Shortly after, both far-right and slightly less far-right Republicans began throwing accusations at one another, with the anti-Lynch Republicans saying Lynch’s supporters purposefully didn’t show up to caucus.
The call for the no-confidence vote came days after The Denver Post reported that Lynch was arrested in 2022 for driving under the influence and possessing a gun. Lynch was pulled over for speeding, his breath test showed he had twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system, and then he scared the arresting officer when he reached for a gun he had in his pocket.
On Monday, Bottoms framed Lynch’s previously unknown run-in with the law as below “quality, ethical standards,” saying the no-confidence vote was needed “to keep the integrity of the Republican caucus,” reported the Colorado Sun.
Republican state Rep. Brandi Bradley said she was voting “no confidence” because Lynch had not revealed his arrest to the minority caucus before he was elected to the leadership position. Bradley said Lynch had “tarnished the reputation” of the caucus.
The Monday vote ended in a 9-9 tie, but not before more fireworks:
In their caucus meeting Monday, House Republicans cast their votes anonymously, after a motion to take a public vote failed. Complicating matters, Republican Rep. Stephanie Luck, who gave birth last week, missed the first part of the caucus meeting, when votes were being taken.
After the vote, Luck agreed to appear online and Bottoms and others demanded another vote, but could not make it materialize before Lynch’s supporters adjourned the meeting. Lynch took to the radio shortly after the vote, according to 9News Colorado, and called the timing of the reports about his DUI a “hit job.”
On Tuesday, Bottoms characterized Monday’s meeting as a “sham,” calling Lynch supporters hypocrites:
"We talk about this as Republicans and pick on Democrats" for playing games, and yet the Republican caucus does it constantly, Bottoms said, adding it's not okay for a representative to stand for minority leader when he's on probation and calling it the equivalent of lying.
Clearly, the pressure on Lynch became too much—with the very real possibility that he would receive a “no confidence” vote in the next 24 hours. A new leader of the fractured Colorado Republican Party will be voted on Thursday morning.
Here is dashcam footage of Lynch’s 2022 DUI arrest:
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