The Republican Primary is set to take place June 28, 2022. This is considered a semi-open primary and Unaffiliated Voters will be sent a Democrat ballot and a Republican ballot. They are allowed to vote in either Primary, but only one. This arrangement was proposed in 2016 as Proposition 108 – the Unaffiliated Voter Initiative. It was passed by a 6% margin, 53-47%. The Republican Party has resisted the semi-open primary, considering opting-out of the primary in 2017, 2019 and 2021. The State GOP has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Prop 108, this past year. It does not seem legal that non-members are allowed to help select our party’s candidates. But that being said, it is the current “law of the land” and we are once again going to have a Primary where non-members are allowed to vote in who we pick for our candidates in the November General Election. So how do we get the candidates Republicans want elected? We need to get our fellow Republicans to vote in this Primary election and we need to get like-minded Unaffiliated voters to vote for the Republican candidates we want. So how do we do that? We need to reach out and contact our fellow Republicans as well as the Unaffiliated voters.
This is especially important in this year’s primary. Democrats have been calling for fellow Democrats to change their affiliation to Unaffiliated so they can vote in the Republican primary to get the candidate they want the Republicans to run. Letters to the Editor have been published in the Durango and Gunnison newspapers promoting this strategy. This change in affiliation must be completed 22 days before the election, which is June 6 for the June 28 Primary Election. So as bad as it is to let Unaffiliated voters help select our candidates, it is outrageous that Democrats are lining up to vote in the Republican primary. If the concept of letting non-members vote in selecting our candidates doesn’t concern you, the idea of Democrats selecting our candidates should push every Republican to support cancelling the Unaffiliated Voter Initiative. But as I said before we are stuck with this situation for now and this situation should compel us to make sure all Republicans vote in this Primary election and we get as many Unaffiliated voters to support the Republican candidates of our choice.
Voter turnout for past elections has varied. The Special District Election held this past May 3 had a 35% voter turnout. The November 2, 2021 Coordinated Election, which included School Board, had a 44% voter turnout. The November 3, 2020 General Election had an incredible 88% voter turnout and the March 3, 2020 Presidential Primary election had a 53% voter turnout, with 7,496 Republican voting and Donald Trump receiving 7,198 of those votes or 96.02%. I believe this shows Republicans will turn out to vote if they are motivated. As the saying goes, “Decisions are made by those who show up." So, let’s help motivate our electors and get them to show up and vote!
The Delta County Republican Central Committee purchased a Voter Registration List on March 13, 2022. Voter Integrity Chairman Curt Grinnell organized the list into Precincts. We sent these Precinct Lists out to the Precinct Committee People (PCPs) in each Precinct. I am asking the PCPs and volunteers to assist in contacting Republican voters in their Precincts and Unaffiliated voters encouraging them to vote in the June 28th Primary. In addition, I have drafted up a script individuals can use as a guide when they contact voters. We also have the sample ballot, from the County website, showing the offices and candidates that will be on the June 28 ballot, the Commitment to Colorado that the State GOP put together that shows the areas that Colorado Republicans are promoting in this year’s elections and the Reasons I am a Republican that our committee put together to promote the Republican Party. I hope this is good information that can be used to encourage people to vote in the Primary.
Here are some of the points from the script that I believe we can use.
It’s very important to vote in the Primary election for the candidate we want to see run on the Republican ticket in November’s General Election. What are the issues that are most important to you for this election? Do you know who you plan to vote for? Can I answer any questions about any of the Republican candidates?
I believe we have some really strong candidates in this election. All of our County Republican candidates and many of the State Republican candidates do not have a Primary Opponent, but there are a number of federal offices and State offices where there are Primary Races and these are incredibly important offices. They are:
Office | Candidate 1 | Candidate 2 | Candidate 3 |
US Senate (Incumbent is Democrat Michael Bennet) | Ron Hanks | Joe O'Dea | |
Congressional Representative- CD3 | Lauren Boerbert (incumbent) | Don Coram | |
Governor (Incumbent is Democrat Jared Polis) | Greg Lopez | Heidi Ganahl | |
Secretary of State (Incumbent is Democrat Jena Griswold) | Tina Peters | Mike O'Donnell | Pam Anderson |
In all the other offices the Republican candidates are unopposed.
I thank you for planning to vote. This is critical as our Primary elections are semi-open and Unaffiliated Voters are allowed to vote in the Party Primaries. This year the Democrats have been encouraging Democrat voters to change their affiliation to Unaffiliated so they can vote in the Republican Primary. We need Republican voters to vote in the Primary so that we get the candidate we want and not the candidate the Democrats want.
I am recommending that we all support and vote for our Republican candidates who are unopposed in the upcoming Republican primary. I can do that because they are unopposed in the Primary. However, I’m not making recommendations on which candidates to vote for in the four races listed above, where there are multiple Republican candidates, because the Executive Committee are limited by the “Pre-primary neutrality” restriction in our Bylaws. However, PCPs and individuals are free to make recommendations on candidates. I encourage people to be prepared to discuss the strong points of the candidates they support.
I hope this information is helpful. If you have a good approach to use in getting people to vote, let us know. We need all the help we can get to win the elections. Remember, we are privileged to have the opportunity to help determine who will represent us in our government. Don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy that privilege – VOTE in the June 28, 2022 Primary election!
I look forward to seeing you all at the next monthly meeting of the DCRCC. We will be at the Surface Creek Church on Tuesday June 7, 2022. The meeting starts at 6:00 pm. We’ll see you there!
David Bradford
Delta County Republican Central Committee Chairman