OK, so we’re a bit late with this one, but it’s still worth noting here: There is movement regarding the chairmanships of both state parties this week. Among Republicans, an upstart wants in, and among Democrats, the current chair wants out.

On the GOP front: Republican George Athanasopoulos, who unsuccessfully challenged heavy-hitter incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter for his 7th Congressional District seat in the Nov. 8 general election, announced Tuesday morning on 710 KNUS Radio’s Peter Boyles Show that he will run for state GOP chair. Athanasopoulos, a staunch Donald Trump supporter and Army veteran who served in Iraq, seems primed to inject a dose of Trump’s drain-the-swamp tonic into a state party Athanasopoulos says is “broken.” How his ambitions square with those of current state Chair Steve House is an open question; House’s name has been floated as a prospect for the 2018 governor’s race, and it’s not known yet if he’ll seek another term as party helmsman.

Athanasopoulos’s aspirations aside, it’s also worth listening to his radio announcement to hear the ever-irrepressible Boyles go off on House. Ouch. Here’s the link to that segment again.

On the Democratic front: Veteran Chairman Rick Palacio emailed party members on Tuesday, as well, to say he won’t be seeking another term in the spring after having led the party for six years. His missive includes the ritual recitation of his party’s strides during his tenure, but of course 2016 turned out to be anything but a banner year for Democrats nationally.

The connection to Palacio’s own decision to seek what he called a “new adventure”? Well, we’ll let Denverite’s Erica Meltzer take it from here; her account Tuesday is where we first learned of Palacio’s announcement. Read her full report here.