4 MAY 9-15, 2024 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Put to the Test THE COLORADO REPUBLICAN PARTY HAS SENT CANDIDATES IN THE JUNE 25 PRIMARY A TRUMP-CENTRIC ENDORSEMENT QUESTIONNAIRE. BUT COULD THE FORMER PRESIDENT HIMSELF PASS? BY HANNAH METZGER Even Donald Trump isn’t MAGA enough for the Colorado Republican Party. The Colorado GOP made the controver- sial decision to endorse candidates in the June 25 election, breaking a decades-long tradition of staying neutral in primaries. To choose who gets its stamp of approval, on April 30 the party sent state-level candidates a questionnaire to evaluate their conserva- tive values — though the survey largely focuses on their feelings toward former president Donald Trump. Five out of the 22 questions are about Trump, asking candidates if they support his “populist, America-fi rst agenda”; if they denounce an organization that raised money against him; if they plan to vote for Trump in November; and which presidential can- didate they voted for during the 2020 and 2016 elections. This isn’t surprising, as party chair Dave Williams is a vocal Trump supporter and the party endorsed Trump for the presi- dency back in Janu- ary. Trump returned the favor, endorsing Williams in his race to replace retiring U.S. Representative Doug Lamborn in Congress, calling Williams “a great friend” in a recent campaign ad. Between the questionnaire’s Trump- centered queries, it also asks about the candidates’ policy positions and political histories...many questions that, if answered by Trump himself, would likely disqualify him from receiving an endorsement from the Colorado Republican Party. Here’s a look at how Trump would fare on the questionnaire: “Have you ever been a registered member of another party?” While the Colorado GOP is seeking Re- publican purists, Trump has identifi ed all over the political spectrum. He registered with the Independence Party from 1999 to 2001, the Democratic Party from 2001 to 2009, the Republican Party from 2009 to 2011, and had no party affi liation from 2011 to 2012 before switching back to Republican, according to reports from the Washington Post and PolitiFact. While with the Independence Party — New York’s version of the Reform Party — Trump unsuccessfully ran to be the party’s presidential nominee. During his stint as a Democrat, Trump gave many interviews publicly bolstering the party. “The economy does better under the Democrats,” he said at one point, and even praised his soon-to-be 2016 presidential op- ponent Hillary Clinton, saying she “would do a good job” negotiating with foreign nations, CNN reported. “Have you ever voted for a Democrat in any election, or contributed fi nancially or otherwise to a Democrat running for offi ce in any election?” From 1989 to 2010, more than half of Trump’s political contributions went to Democratic candidates, National Public Radio reported. He shifted to donating pri- marily to Republicans beginning in 2010, but he still threw cash to Democrats as recently as 2013 — between his unoffi cial campaign to be the Republican presidential nominee in 2012 and his successful bid for offi ce in 2016. Two notable recipients of Trump’s fi - nancial contributions are his current rivals: President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump donated $1,000 to Biden in 2001, when he was running for his sixth term in the Senate, and a total of $6,000 to Harris in 2011 and 2013 for her election and re-election cam- paigns as Cali- fornia’s attorney general, CBS reported. He’s also contributed to the campaigns of other promi- nent Democrats including Hillary Clinton, Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand. “Do you support a federal ban on abortion?” The Colorado Republican Party has taken a hard stance against abortion, advocating for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that protects the “fundamental right to life” for “the unborn child” on the policy platform posted to its website. However, Trump feels differently. Just last month, Trump said he would not sign a national abortion ban if he is elected president again. He argued that the issue should be left to the states, saying, “We have abortion where everyone wanted it from a legal standpoint.” This contradicts Trump’s previous sup- port for a federal abortion ban, which he publicly supported from 2016 to 2018, CNN reported. But he’s been known to fl ip back and forth when it comes to reproductive rights. Trump described himself as “very pro-choice” up until 2011, according to an NBC News timeline. “Should red fl ag laws be used to prevent mentally ill people from possessing fi re- arms?” Party chair Williams has been a fi erce op- ponent of Colorado’s red fl ag gun law since it passed in 2019, while he was a state represen- tative. He and a group of other Republicans even sued to block the law, challenging the constitutionality of how the measure was passed by the Colorado Legislature. But while the Colorado GOP was fi ghting the state’s red fl ag law, Trump was advocating for similar policies from the White House. Following mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, in 2019, Trump said he supported the use of red fl ag gun laws to prevent gun violence. “We must make sure that those judged to pose a grave risk to public safety do not have access to fi rearms, and that if they do, those fi rearms can be taken through rapid due process. That is why I have called for red fl ag laws,” he said in remarks reported by CNN. “What does election integrity mean to you? How will you defend our elections if elected?” For almost four years, Trump has falsely claimed that he won the 2020 presidential election, spewing unfounded accusations of widespread voter fraud and interference from foreign nations. Since he began casting doubt on the election system, the United States has suffered the largest partisan divide in trust in election accuracy ever recorded, according to a Gallup poll. An investigation by the Associated Press discovered fewer than 475 cases of voter fraud in six battleground states during the election — far too few to impact the outcome of the election in any way. And a national intelligence council said it found “no indica- tions that any foreign actor attempted to alter any technical aspect of the voting process” in the 2020 election. Trump’s claims resulted in a mob of his supporters attacking the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, leading to at least seven deaths and over 150 injuries. Trump also allegedly pressured state and federal gov- ernment offi cials to overturn the results of the election. Luckily for Trump, he’s already secured the Colorado GOP’s endorsement. Because if he had to fi ll out the questionnaire like other candidates, he might not like his chances. When asked to respond to backlash regarding the questionnaire and whether Trump would pass it, party chair Williams said, “Why would any questions disqualify President Trump? Is there any answer key that you’re aware of that we are not?” Westword sent Williams an example of the Colorado GOP’s policy platform that Trump’s questionnaire answers would con- tradict. Williams did not reply. Email the author at [email protected]. NEWS KEEP UP ON DENVER NEWS AT WESTWORD.COM/NEWS GOP party chair Dave Williams endorsed Trump in January. WESTWORD PHOTO ILLUSTRATION FIVE OUT OF THE 22 QUESTIONS ARE ABOUT TRUMP, ASKING CANDIDATES IF THEY SUPPORT HIS “POPULIST, AMERICA-FIRST AGENDA.”
