DENVER (October 25, 2023) – Colorado Working Families Party (COWFP) today called upon candidates in the November 2023 Election endorsed by the Colorado Conservative Patriot Alliance (CCPA) to denounce the organization’s values and request they rescind endorsements of their campaigns. COWFP highlighted the organization’s anti-choice and nationalistic views as well as their ties to the organization MAGA Trump Colorado in their call. 

“Voters have a right to know who is running to represent them,” said Wendy Howell, Colorado Working Families Party’s State Director. “ And voters throughout Colorado, especially in places like Aurora and Boulder where viable Mayoral candidates have been actively trying to distance themself from right-wing movements, want to know: Do you accept the support of the Conservative Patriot Alliance and their anti-choice, anti-immigrant, and anti-LGBTQ network? Or will you denounce this extremist group and the hate they represent?” 

The Colorado Conservative Patriot Alliance was founded by the co-founder and former chairman of MAGA Trump Colorado, David Hunt. According to the organization’s website, “David Hunt is an authentic WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) and personifies everything that the Left hates.” The organization runs a network of social media pages dedicated to various issues including anti-choice, anti-trans, and anti-gun control pages, and amongst their “Conservative Values” lists positions opposed to same-sex marriage, abortion rights, immigration, gun control, and environmentalism. The organization also expresses explicit support for bigoted Trumpian “America First” policies.

“We are additionally deeply concerned by the list of school board candidates this extremist group has backed,” COWFP State Director Wendy Howell continued. “We have seen clearly in the Woodland Park of today and the Jeffco of yesteryear how extremist right-wing idealogues on school boards can damage our public schools and harm our communities. We would urge all Coloradans who reject Trumpian extremism to be sure to get out and vote this year — and in particular to vote against any candidates on this list who do not actively condemn this organization and its extremism.”

Full list of candidate endorsements by the Colorado Conservative Patriot Alliance:

Municipal:

Aurora:

•  Mike Coffman (Mayor)
•  Curtian [sic] Gardner (At-Large)
•  Jono Scott (At-Large)
•  Stephanie Hancock (Ward 4)
•  Angela Lawson (Ward 5)
•  Francoise Bergan (Ward 6)

Boulder:

•  Bob Yates (Mayor)

Broomfield:

•  Chris Hammerschmidt (Ward 1)
•  Peter Crouse (Ward 3)
•  Maria Boutrous (Ward 5)

Centennial:

•  Rick Rome (District 2)

Englewood:

•  Rita Russell (At Large)
•  Kim Wright (At Large)
•  Matt Crabtree (District 1)
•  Laurett Barrentine (District 3)

Fort Collins: 

• Shirley Peel (District 4)
• Alexander (Adams District 6)

Lakewood:

• Don Burkhart (Mayor)
• Pete Del Duca (Ward 2)

Longmont: 

• Terri Goon (Mayor)
• Steven Altschuler (At Large)
• Diane Crist (Ward 1)

Loveland:

• Don Overcash (Mayor)
• John Fogle (Ward III)
• Ezekiel Cortez (Ward IV)

Monte Vista:

•  Martha Lock
• Loren Howard

Northglenn:

• Mark Bromley (Mayor)

School Board:

• Derek Eadsen  (Adams 27-J)
• Shawna Hirter, Shawna (Adams 27-J)
• Annie Jensen (Adams 27-J)
• Ben Helgeson (Adams D12)
• Ken Murphy-Montoya (Adams D12) 
• Rebecca Elmore (Adams D12) 
• Max Garcia (Aurora)
• Scott Graves (Cherry Creek )
• Steve McKenna (Cherry Creek)
• Brian McCauley (Littleton 6)
• Michelle Redfearn (LPS)
• Elainah Trujillo (D-JT-50)
• Max Garcia (APS)
• Cynthia Nevison (BVSD)
• Rebecca Elmore – Adams 12)
• Ben Helgeeson – (Adams 12)
• Ken Murphy-Montoya – (Adams 12)
• Amara Hildebrand- (Jeffco District 4)
• Tom Wicke – (Jeffco District 3)
• Montana Brown – (Buena Vista D-31)
• Brett Mitchell –  (Buena Vista D-31)
• George Richardson –  (Buena Vista D-31)
• Beth Suppes (50J)
• Hardy Hutto (50J)
• Dave DiCarlo (Douglas RE-1)
• Andy Jones (Douglas RE-1)
• Maria Sumnicht (Douglas RE-1)
• Celeste Fitzpatrick (Cheyenne Mtn 12)
• Rick Gillitt (Cheyenne Mtn 12)
• Sherrea Elliott-Sterling (Harrison 2)
• Dave Boyd (Widefield-3)
• Tina West, (Widefield-3)
• Jill Grubbs (Fountain D-8)
• Parth Melpakham (D-11) 
• Jason Jorgenson (D-11) 
• Jill Hefley (D-11) 
• Thomas Carey (D-11) 
• Derrick Wilburn (D-20)
• Amy Shandy (D-20)
• Tom Olmstead (D-38)
• Deb Schmidt (D-49)
• Mark Cravens (D-49)
• Ivy Liu (D-49)
• Michael Calahan (Elizabeth)
• Rhonda Olsen (Elizabeth)
• Mary Powell (Elizabeth)
• Jonathan Waller (Elizabeth)
• Matt Alexander (Canon City-RE1)
• Graceann Pittner (Canon City-RE1)
• Tom Wenzl (Canon City-RE1)
• Beth Roman (Fremont D-2)
• Phillip Bogart (Roaring Fork)
• Alan Kokish (Roaring Fork)
• Cassie Haskell (Garfield Re-2)
• Fathom Jensen – unopposed (Garfield Re-2)
• Chance Jenkins – (Garfield Re-2)
• Cori Dobson (Gunnison – RE1J )
• Lisa Henry (Gunnison – RE1J 
• Thomas Wicke (Jeffco 3)
• Amara Hildebrand (Jeff 4)
• Sheryle Hunter (Ignacio – 11JT )
• Kyri Cox (Estes Park-RE3)
• Kevin Morris (Estes Park-RE3)
• Andrea Booth (Poudre – RE1 )
• Kurt Kastein (Poudre – RE1 )
• Caleb Larsen (Poudre – RE1 )
• Scott Schoenbauer (Poudre – RE1)
• Nancy Rumfelt (Thompson)
• Yazmin Navarro (Thompson)
• Ryan Wilcken (Thompson)
• Elizabeth Kearney (Thompson) – “Best” of two Democrats in her district
• Barbara Evanson (D-51)
• Cyndee Skalaa (D-51)
• Rhonda Tracy (Cortez RE-1)
• Michael Rime (Dolores Re-4A)
• Dustin Goodall (Dolores Re-4A)
• Dawn Schieldt (RE-1J)
• Neisha Balleck (RE-1J)
• Ted Valerio (RE-1J)
• Charli Oswald (RE-1J)
• Jimmy Bailey (Holyoke )
• Cherri Brown (Holyoke – RE1J )
• Mike Brown (Holyoke)
• Julia Kinner (Holyoke – RE1J)
• Sally Goulet (Aspen)
• Sue Pannunzio (D-60)
• Brian Cisneros (D-60)
• Dan Comden (D-60)
• Dr. Roger Wright (D-60)
• Cliff Kincannon (Monte Vista)
• Mike Atkinson (Summit)
• Jennifer Gonzalez (Summit)
• Leigh Sargent (Summit)
• Danielle Surette (Summit)
• Mick Bates (WP-RE 2)
• Dave Illingworth (WP-RE 2)
• Cassie Kimbrell (Carter) (WP-RE 2)
• Anna Smith (RE3J) 
• Mark Allen Leach – (RE4 Windsor/Severance) 
• Kathy Ulrich – (RE4 Windsor/Severance) 
• Karen Trusler – (RE4 Windsor/Severance) 
• TaRissa Campbell – (RE8)
• Stacey Casteel (Greeley D-6)
• Scott Rankin (Greeley D-6)
• Ashlee Tilley (Greeley D-6)
• Amy Musgrave (Milliken RE-J5)
• Kristen Schaffner (Wray – RD2)

The Working Families Party is a progressive grassroots political party building a multiracial, multigenerational, and feminist movement of working people to transform America. In the last year, the Working Families Party waged a $2.5 million voter mobilization effort in Georgia to elect Raphael Warnock to the Senate, helped elect WFP champions Jamaal Bowman and Mondaire Jones in heavily-contested Congressional races, drove a wave of victories for progressives in Rhode Island, shook up the New Mexico Democratic establishment with progressive victories under the banner of “No Corporate Dems,” elected a diverse slate of progressives in Delaware, and helped create the most progressive NY state legislature in decades by winning thirty-three state legislative primaries. Since launching a state chapter in Colorado in 2017, WFP has played a key role in putting more progressives on the Denver City Council, winning paid family leave and a ban on predatory payday lending, has helped to flip the majority of the CU Board of Regents and has worked to successfully elect dozens of bold progressives to state & local offices across the Centennial State.