Colorado GOP faces backlash from anti-LGBTQ newsletter

DENVER (KDVR) — Some Colorado Republicans are distancing themselves from the Colorado GOP after an anti-LGBTQ newsletter went out to supporters earlier this week. The email followed up with a post on social media, where the group said “burn all the #pride flags this June.”

The email and posts prompted one Republican congressional candidate to reject the party’s endorsement. Valdamar Archuleta is running to unseat longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, and he’s the president of Colorado Log Cabin Republicans — an LGBTQ advocacy group for conservatives.

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Archuleta called the email and posts hateful and wrong, adding: I don’t believe that leadership speaks for the entire party. I think it’s a very, very small group of people.”

Anti-LGBTQ messages ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back’

Archuleta discussed the statements on “Colorado Point of View” this week, where he was asked if the Colorado Republican Party is not considered “a small group of people.”

“I would like to think it’s not, but I do think there’s a fringe element that has hijacked the party,” Archuleta said.

The Republican candidate for Colorado’s 1st Congressional District added: “When it comes to higher profile Republicans in the state, I can’t think of anyone who saw this email and said, ‘No, this is good, I agree with that.’ It’s overwhelmingly being rejected, and it’s not just this one issue. This is kind of the straw that broke the camel’s back if you look at things that have been happening in the party for the past year, and people are unhappy and it shows.”

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Archuleta also called on the state’s Republican Party chairman, Dave Williams, to step down immediately, adding: “He has failed the party. His job is to get Republicans elected. This email alone I believe is going to result in the loss of elections for Republicans.”

Watch the full interview with Valdamar Archuleta on “Colorado Point of View” on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on Colorado’s Very Own Channel 2.

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