Endorsements are piling up in the race for state chair of the Colorado Republican Party, which will be decided at a meeting of the GOP’s state central committee on March 14 in Castle Rock. Chairman Ryan Call is seeking a third two-year term leading the party, while former Adams County Republican chair and former gubernatorial candidate Steve House is challenging him.

At the end of last week, three of Colorado’s four Republican congressional representatives sent out a letter via the Call campaign endorsing Call for another term as state party chair, saying Call has “worked tirelessly” to elect Republicans in the state.

Pointing out that they’re part of “a historic Republican majority in the House of Representatives – our largest Republican majority since 1929,” U.S. Reps. Mike Coffman, Doug Lamborn and Scott Tipton write in the joint letter that Call has been instrumental in achieving GOP wins.

“He helped us raise the money we needed, provided the technology and training our volunteers needed to help us win, and he traveled to our districts and to every single county in Colorado to support us and so many of our fellow Republican candidates and local party officials,” they write. “Ryan’s assistance to each of us is not the only reason we support him for another term as our State Party Chairman. We also support him because of his track record of results, and because of his unwavering commitment to our conservative principles.”

The state’s fourth Republican member of Congress, freshman U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, doesn’t plan to make an endorsement in the contest for state party leadership, his spokeswoman said this week.

Former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo sent out a letter backing House, saying that his “business background, belief in our party platform and his strong stance on constitutional principles would be refreshing and motivating for people across our state.”

Pointing out that he got to know House on the campaign trail last year, when both were running for governor, Tancredo predicted that House can unify the GOP, “from traditional Republican to grassroots activists.” However, he warned, “if we continue with the party leadership we have right now, we will not accomplish that and it could likely get worse.”

State Sen. Kevin Lundberg said he believes House “will bring much-needed change to our state party” and lauded House for his business experience and skills managing “large, successful organizations.” Lundberg also credited House with helping establish the foundation for Republican wins in traditionally Democratic Adams County in the last election, when GOP candidates unseated a Democratic state House member, won a state Senate seat that Democrats hadn’t considered at risk, and scored wins nearly across the board in races for county offices.

Comparing House to General Ulysses S. Grant, state Sen. Chris Holbert said he is supporting the challenger because he wants a leader “who will fight for us” and exhibit the qualities that President Abraham Lincoln found in Grant. “We will succeed together from the ground up, not from the top down,” Holbert added.

U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, the Republican who held the 4th Congressional District seat before Buck, earlier sent out an enthusiastic endorsement of Call.

“On November 4th, Colorado Republicans celebrated our best Election Day in over a decade,” Gardner wrote, touting the record of GOP victories in Colorado that included unseating his opponent, U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, keeping all four Republican seats in Congress, sweeping the statewide offices of state treasurer, attorney general and secretary of state, and winning a majority in the Colorado Senate.

“These all were great victories, and it would not have been possible without the principled leadership of Chairman Ryan Call at the helm of the Colorado Republican Committee,” Gardner wrote.

The letter from Coffman, Tipton and Lamborn made similar points and argued that it’s crucial that state Republicans make the right choice when they pick GOP leadership on March 14.

“It is vital that we build on our successes and keep a capable, experienced, tested state chairman that knows how to win as we begin a challenging presidential election cycle where the stakes for not only Colorado but the nation are so very high,” they wrote.

– Ernest@coloradostatesman.com