Incumbent Colorado Republican Party Vice Chairman Derrick Wilburn on Wednesday told The Colorado Statesman he won’t be running for state GOP chairman in upcoming party elections.

That leaves two candidates for the top spot: former congressional nominee George Athanasopoulos and El Paso County Republican Party Chairman Jeff Hays.

Wilburn had said earlier in January that he would decide whether to run for chairman by the end of the month, adding that it could depend on whether incumbent chairman Steve House sought another term. House announced on Monday that he wouldn’t seek a second term and had also opted against a run next year for governor.

House, a former Adams County GOP chairman and health care consultant, said he plans to raise money for next year’s GOP’s gubernatorial nominee while working to fix the health care system.

Colorado Republicans elect party leadership at a meeting of the state central committee, which has been scheduled for April 1, House announced at a party fundraiser in Denver on Wednesday. The location for the meeting hasn’t yet been finalized, a GOP spokesman said later.

The central committee is made up of elected officials, county party officers and bonus members, awarded to counties based on how many votes Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump received. Republicans elect county officers – chair, vice chair and secretary in each – and bonus members throughout the month of February.

Along with a new chairman, the GOP will also elect a vice chairman and a secretary, all to two-year terms. No candidates have yet announced for vice chairman or secretary, according to a party spokesman.

Wilbur said Wednesday that he hasn’t made an endorsement in the race between Athanasopoulos and Hays, adding that he will “most likely stay out of it.”

Riding a wave of support from the GOP’s more conservative members, House unseated two-term state party chairman Ryan Call in March 2015, the first time an incumbent Republican chair had been defeated for reelection in at least 50 years. At the same meeting, Republicans elected Wilburn as vice chairman and Brandi Meek of Craig as secretary.

Wilburn, a resident of Colorado Springs, is the founder and chairman of the Rocky Mountain Black Conservatives and founded American Conservatives of Color.

– ernest@coloradostatesman.com