On the other end of the phone is new Colorado chair Woman Britta Horn.
Hello Britta, I know, Hello, Hello miss Mandy.
First of all, congratulations. We haven't had a chance to chat since you were elected by the Colorado Republican Party Central Committee to be the chairman of the Colorado GOP. And boy was I glad with that outcome. So let's just start there.
Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
I want to ask you and I and my listeners got together, we put our heads together in the first hour to come up with issues that we thought that the Colorado Republican Party should focus on in the upcoming election cycle, because we are nothing if not helpful, Britta.
But I appreciate.
I'd like to.
Ask you about what has surely been a whirlwind since that election for you personally. What have you been doing as the brand new chair of the Colorado Republican Party in the last few weeks.
Oh, my gosh, doing things just like this. I don't know how many media hits we've had so far, and I just came off of one just before you, and that it's just spreading out what talking about. What is the job? The job is one thing it is to elect more Republicans. It's also to grow the party, and it's also to fundraise. And I've been doing all three of those things in the last one twenty two, twenty three days and it's been a lot of We have
transitions going on right now. We're trying to find things where things are where, you know, I think everybody knows that we're moving the office. I'm going to more regional offices. And we've been looking at places already and where we can move the furniture and start hitting the ground running with field directors. So it's all the above, and it's been NonStop.
So, if you know, one of the big issues that the Republican Party has had over the last few years has been fundraising. And I had a meeting with someone who is not necessarily a Republican but a conservative and and he said to me, he said, look, there's a lot of money on the sidelines right now in the conservative side of Colorado that isn't that has not been being put in the party. Are you seeing some of
that money perhaps begin to shake loose. Are you seeing donors that were not happy with the prior leadership beginning to say, okay, maybe we're onto something.
Here, absolutely, and a lot of new donors. A lot of people are saying, I'm going to say, of all the messages I'm getting good, bad, and ugly, the favorite ones are people going, Okay, I become an independent because of all this chaos. I'm willing to come back to the Republican Party, become a Republican and bring money with me. And that has been the biggest, biggest piece I'm hearing from people saying they're bringing money over, They're going to
be new fundraising. People's new donors that we haven't had before. And I'm looking forward not only to the traditional ones that around the state that you and I talked about before. You know, they closed their checkbooks. They were not send money to Colorado and it went out of state. It went to Florida that you were talking about earlier. It's like, no, those need to be to redirected back into Colorado and let's get to work with it.
Absolutely.
Now, I want to ask you about the I think the most challenging part. I would think your job, and that is bringing together the factions. And that's the only way to put it. There are distinct factions in the Republican Party in Colorado right now, and they're not particularly friendly to one another. I've seen some less than kind things about you already in some of the Facebook groups, and I'm sure you know what's flying around out there.
What if any progress or what if any actions have you taken as the chair to begin to mend those fences.
Well, absolutely, I've been putting out the olive branch, you know. I'm just like, what can we do to work on together? What can we find things that are together? You're absolutely right, there's some ugly, nasty things out there, and I didn't think are still reeling from their books. And the only way we're going to be able to win them over is to show some wins. When we start showing the dollars that we're bringing in, we're showing the changes that
we're bringing in, we're going to be exposing. We just still have to show, like I said, what happened in the past, We're going to have to expose that, and we're gonna have to say because we want everybody you know and techno, we need to get our integrity back. We have to be honest, we have to be transparent, and that should come across as more wins. So how we're going to do better, how we're not going to do the way it was in the past, and that should bring some people over.
So I'd like to ask you, and this has been one of my frustrations with Republicans, not just in Colorado. This is not a uniquely Colorado problem. But Democrats are super good at staying on message. And I don't know if they have meetings once a week, I don't know what happens with that, but they're incredibly good at staying on message, and especially in this state where not only do Republicans have to run against the Democratic candidate, they
also have to run against a lot of our media. Right, so you lose the ability to control the narrative because the media is only going to ask you about things that you feel they feel are a disadvantage. I've now watched it happen over and over and over again. I know you have too. So the only hope for this is incredibly disciplined messaging.
What is the Republican message right now?
Who is working on crafting the priorities for the Republican Party in terms of campaign messages that will resonate not just with Republicans, but resonate with the far larger number of independents whose votes we have to win, right.
And I think it's everybody's correct, you know, crafting out and we're going to do our share as well, and it's going to be a lot of candidates have to do. They're crafting their message. Again, the Republican Colorado Republican Party is not policy. It is literally a machine to get the job done. And the machine and the product that we have to crank out are good Republicans and more of them and more people running and growing the party,
and like we just said, fundraising. So when the messaging, like you said, the two hundred and fifty thousand Republicans active in Colorado that didn't vote November, we're gonna have to message to them separately and differently. But you're right, very focused and very very point on and all say the same thing for those two hundred and fifty thousand people, and it's going to be different than the independent one hundred thousand independent A are right leaning and have a
message for them. It's going to be we're going to find the pieces that we all get along with, and you know, maybe it's not going to be eighty twenty with with Ronald Reagan, as they all talk about maybe it's gonna be more sixty forty or seventy thirty. We have to find the pieces that we can talk about so we can stay glued together on those pieces and get people to vote. We need more voters. We're only twenty three percent of the state. Yeah, well voters, go ahead.
I'm just saying, here's the way.
Yeah.
The way I see this, Britta, is really simple is that we have to sort of drop the Republican blinders. And this is not a criticism, to be clear, This is not me saying the Republicans are wrong so they
should drop their blinders. But the reality is, to your point, we are so outnumbered in this state in terms of voter registration that it is it is a losing proposition to only focus on the Republican voter, like, we have to craft a message that is going to reach those independent voters who maybe have not had the best time
since twenty nineteen. I appreciate what you're saying about the Republican Party being the machinery, but I do think there's value in helping Republican candidates understand every issue in terms of how to articulate that and how to articulate that a conservative you know, answer or solution would be the
way to go. Because I'm not gonna lie. I've had candidates on this show for office that when I got done, I just died inside a little bit because it was so obvious that they didn't have a handle on certain issues. They weren't able to articulately sort of articulate the Republican position.
And it's painful.
And so do you think there would be any value in sort of giving those those white paper sort of backstroke, you know, back information pieces of information to candidates, And if so, how do.
We do that?
I like that. I like what you're I like what you're I've already voted down while you were talking, So I like this idea because you're right. It has to be the issues that are concerning all of us, not only across America but Colorado. And it's gonna be crime. Why would aren't we all talking about crime? Why aren't
we all talking about the economy? You know, because there's like there's pieces that we all are touched by, you know, we can't we don't talk as much Anymorecus Trump fixed that for us, or the government did I I'll go six. So let's find those pieces that still resonate with all of us at every day living in Colorado. What is it? And it's gonna be obviously right now, parenting issues. It's gonna be school issues. I mean that's the topic. It's gonna be two way, it's gonna be, you know, set
A bill three. We have to be talking about two A and everybody's and you're right. I'm gonna tell you, you know, Mandy is you know inside inso I get a lot of the text and a lot of people saying you need to have a statement about this, and you need to have a statement about that. I already agree about two A. I already agree about a First Amendment rights. I already agree with all these parents and these am trans things that are going on and being
working on those issues at the schools. You don't need to hear from me. You need to hear from the CAID and the party needs to bolster them for it. But you're exactly right, you all have to be thank you. We have to just be laser focused that we're talking all the same things absolutely exactly.
And here's the thing. Everybody doesn't have time to become an expert in every issue, especially if it's not an issue that's primary in their community. But we need to prepare them to be able to articulate those positions on every issue, because I know for a fact that the Democratic Party does this, and they coach their their their candidates and they you know, work on the message with them so they can clearly articulate their positions.
And it shows sometimes and I realize that I.
View it anyway as Republicans being more independent minded. Right our candidates tend to think they have good answers, but then they fall flat in being able to explain why they're good answers, So that that would be my thing. But I'm I'm going to give you my list, Bretta, and all email this to you because I know you know you might be driving and I want you to die one of the things that I would say if I were chair, and you can do this or not.
All of the fighting and in fighting needs to be taken off social media, like it all needs to stop. And if we have to have some kind of come to Jesus meeting where people can come in and invent their spleen and get it over with and.
Just hash it all out. Then let's do that.
But the infighting on social media accomplishes nothing. It makes Republicans look really, really bad and really small and petty. And I'm not saying this just because I feel that way, and I do. You should see the emails I get from people about this. They don't realize that other people are paying attention. So we can fight, but we got to take it off.
Social media exactly behind closed doors. Disagree, but there's just still people that have a need. And you know, you got to remember, they've they've lost power. Yeah, they lost their seat, and they're still, like you said, reeling and feeling and I'm already having I mean, I'm already had I mean trackers, people coming to all their meetings and their truckers tracking me of not doing the job. And they're Republican too. I'm like, oh, good, gravy, I stop. Yeah,
And I'm like, I'm shocked by it. I really am, because I'm like, really, they don't. They just want to fight to fight, and that's what they've been doing for the last two years. And how's that work for them?
Yeah?
Trust me, I'm on your side on that one for sure. Now the second point is something I feel really strongly about, and I think that this is something the parties should put together almost immediately and distribute to every Republican party, not just candidates. We need to come up with a coherent, one sheet page on everything that has happened in Colorado negatively since twenty nineteen when the Democrats took over total control. We need to have statistics on car thefts, on auto
insurance rates, on affordable housing. We need to have every statistic that shows that Democrats have raised the cost of living, made us less safe, possibly led to more overdoses with their life policies. We need to have that data in front of us. So when we ask voters is your life better since twenty nineteen than it is now?
You know, it's a.
Big powerful question, and very few people would say, yeah, my life is better, all those things are better.
I'd love to see that happen right away.
Well, there you go. I like that too, And you get me nervous about the negativity because I want to be you know, you are the one that monitored me as the happy Warriors. So when you said that that, I'm like, oh, the stats that are niggative.
Yeah, But here's the thing, Britta, you're not doing it. You're just empowering other people with the information they need because it is going to take a herculean effort to get Republicans over the finish line for a whole bunch of reasons that have nothing to do with you or a lot of Republicans. But here we are. I'm just trying to arm them with good information. So when the media tries to steer them do a topic that doesn't matter, they have data to say, wait a minute, I'd rather
talk about this instead, because it's pretty significant. Britta, I don't envy you, but I'm excited. I've talked to so many Republicans who are excited about about They feel hopeful for the first time in a long time, and they're looking forward to what's going to come out.
What should people do.
If they are either a lapsed Republican like me, or maybe they're an independent who is looking at the landscape and saying, maybe I want to throw my lot in.
How do they get involved at the local level?
I mean definitely local level. Go back to your local party and then we have to do an inventory as that as well as what does every county party have? You know, they have a web page, they have a Facebook page, and they have stand that we need to get an inventory of that. I am all about everybody going back to their local and seeing what they can do to get involved. And if there's so many you know, obstacles and can't do it or can't find it, then go to the cool OJP dot dot org a website
and get involved there. At least get the newsletters, start getting involved there and start you know, communicating with us there and seeing if we can turn around and find the people you need to have and so you can start getting involved. Because again you and I both know this, all politics is local. We don't take care of our school boards and our waterboards and our electric boards and our commissions and all the things that go out and
planning commissions. We're not going to get that next level. We have got to take care of it on the local level. It's time to take it back.
Amen to that, Britta Horn.
Keep going out there and beating the pavement and hopefully we're gonna have good news for the Republican Party in this state again soon. We desperately need to bring back some balance in the House and the Senate.
For sure.
I appreciate your time as always, even though I feel like I did most of the talking and told.
You how to do your job.
But I have so much confidence in you that I just want to give you ideas because I think you'll actually go Yeah. I'll listen to the good ideas and implement them, which would would be a nice change.
And we need listeners. Absolutely, you guys have the good ideas. Let's use them, all.
Right, Britta, we'll talk to you soon. I'll send you the rest of our items in an email.
Great, thank you, all right, thanks Britta Horn.
That's the Colorado chairperson of the Colorado GOP.