‘Utter Humiliation’: Trump-Endorsed Candidate Loses GOP Primary Despite Being Chairman of State Party

AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Former President Donald Trump’s pick to win the GOP primary in Colorado’s 5th Congressional district lost in spectacular fashion on Tuesday night – made all the more remarkable by the fact the candidate is the chairman of the Colorado Republican Party.

Dave Williams , who snatched Trump’s coveted endorsement back in March, lost to Jeff Crank – an official at the Koch-backed political group Americans for Prosperity. Crank defeated Williams by just over 30 points. Williams made headlines earlier in the month for sending out a vehemently anti-LGBTQ mailer with the subject line “God Hates Flag.”

Trump praised Williams on his Truth Social platform back in March, saying , “Dave helped us deliver a 30-point Blowout Victory on Super Tuesday, and he will help us WIN Colorado this November. In Congress, Dave will work hard to Secure the Border, Fight for Election Integrity, Support our Military/Vets, and Protect and Defend our under siege Second Amendment. Dave Williams has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”

Crank is all but guaranteed to be elected in November as the district is solidly Republican, having gone for Trump by a double-digit margin in 2020. Trump endorsed candidates in South Carolina and Utah also lost on Tuesday night, including Trump’s pick to replace one of his most staunch GOP critics — retiring Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT).

“Colorado’s GOP primary voters handed an utter humiliation to party chairman Dave Williams and the party’s hand-picked candidates. Williams lost his CO-5 GOP primary by -33%. @ColoGOP lost on 15 of 19 endorsements in contested primaries, by an average margin of -28%,” noted Colorado anchor Kyle Clark on X. Clark explained in a separate post that the Colorado GOP earlier this year “dropped neutrality rules to endorse in GOP primaries.”

The mailer Williams sent out in early June to protest Pride Month sparked outrage from inside the GOP as the party’s endorsed candidate in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District, Valdamar Archuleta , renounced his own party’s endorsement. Archuleta, who is also the president of the Colorado Log Cabin Republicans, posted a lengthy statement saying that “I spoke with many LGBT and non LGBT Republicans yesterday who also found the message in the email disgusting and offensive. This email does NOT Represent the Republican voters of Colorado.”

The mailer, signed by Williams, called to “call to burn all Pride Flags” and referred to the LGBTQ community as “Godless groomers.”