After starting with five candidates and enduring six rounds of voting, delegates to the House District 64 vacancy committee on Saturday chose Richard Alonso Holtorf of Washington County to be their next state representative.

“I’m going to listen and I want to follow your lead as a delegative legislator,” Holtorf told the crowd at the Elbert County Fairgrounds in Kiowa. “It’s your district, not mine. I’m just your representative. If you want to send a bulldog up there, you’re looking at one.”

Holtorf is a cattle rancher and farmer who lives north of Akron. He also served 29 years in the military, including two combat tours in Afghanistan. His resume also lists his past service as the Washington County Farm Bureau president and an English-to-Spanish volunteer translator for the Washington County court.

House District 64 encompasses Baca, Bent, Crowley, Elbert, Kiowa, Las Animas, Lincoln, Prowers and Washington counties. The previous representative, Kimmi Lewis, R-Kim, died of cancer earlier this month. She had served since 2017. The appointment is to fill the final year of her term.

Per state law, a committee of Republican delegates was charged with choosing a replacement.

On Thursday, Holtorf outlined his policy proposals to Colorado Politics, including the establishment of tax incentives for the expansion of rural broadband and cellular service, plus the recruitment of rural healthcare professionals. He also spoke favorably of renewable energy development and raising speed limits to 70 miles per hour, where safe, in rural Colorado.

Unlike his four competitors, Holtorf prepared a detailed proposal of the bills he would like to introduce as a legislator in advance of the vacancy meeting. These included a farm-to-market overweight permit that would cost $50 per vehicle, extended snow removal hours for rural Colorado, and compensation for losses due to the introduction of the gray wolf, as a 2020 ballot initiative proposes (although the text of the initiative refers to introduction west of the Continental Divide).

Lewis was “the real Wonder Woman”

The vacancy committee kicked off at noon, with central committee Chairman Bob Lewis — no relation to Kimmi — thanking the 115 delegates, some of whom had traveled up to six hours in a snowstorm to be there. He began by paying tribute to Kimmi Lewis.

“When DC Comics put together Wonder Woman, they got a couple things right and they got a lot of things wrong,” he said. “The gal could use a lasso — that was pretty cool. But she flew an invisible jet. No. The real Wonder Woman was a cowgirl, and it was Ms. Kimmi.”

Recalling a comment at Kimmi Lewis’s funeral, Bob Lewis said that she “rode for the brand.”

“What an amazing saying that we have, a tradition that we have in the West,” he said. “You ride for the brand. That’s the definition of loyalty. And that was Kimmi. She worked within the system and she worked within our party. She rode for the brand.”

He asked delegates to select a candidate to “ride for the brand” in a solidly Republican, solidly conservative, rural district.

There were five men who submitted candidate statements to the committee prior to the meeting. Nominations could still occur from the floor, although no further candidates put themselves forward after Lewis called three times for additional entrants.

Lewis announced that the winning candidate would require a majority of delegates, or 58. Included in the printed procedures was the rule that “All delegates and candidates will abide by Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment: ‘Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican.’”

Speaking first was James “Jim” Vigil, a former Las Animas County commissioner and secretary of the Colorado Parks & Wildlife Commission.

“I’ll never be the speaker Kimmi was, but I am a good listener,” he told the crowd. He spoke of his academic credentials, which included a master of business administration degree from the University of Denver, and his opposition to the introduction of gray wolves.

Next was Keenan Orcutt, a cattle rancher in Elbert County who spoke of his goal to make the Republican Party more welcoming to younger voters who reject “radical leftism.”

“Unfortunately, we as a party have an image problem in this state,” he said. “One of the angry old man shaking his fist at the kids on the lawn or that we are bound and determined to keep younger people from participating in the process. We need to start changing this image now, or all we are doing is making the job of future generations of Republicans that much harder.”

He added that he drove to the capitol the day after his grandmother’s funeral to speak against the law to establish extreme risk protection orders, which temporarily remove a person’s firearms, and that he will “actively fight for your gun rights.”

Holtorf moved in front of the lectern during his remarks, speaking quickly and referencing the need to “fight” multiple times. He said that “Donald Trump and I have a few things in common,” namely that they are both businessmen.

“We need to hold onto our rural values. They are under assault all the time,” he said. He mentioned it was important to create opportunity in small towns, asserting that “the rural brain drain has to stop.”

Introducing Mack Louden were the son and sister of Kimmi Lewis, who said that the Lewis family supports the former Las Animas County commissioner. Louden mentioned his work with Lewis to stop the expansion of the U.S. Army’s Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site at the expense of nearby landowners, and was the first candidate to mention abortion.

“You know, abortion and the Second Amendment are both things about protection,” he said. “The unborn on the abortion side of it and the Second Amendment to protect our families.”

Speaking last was Scott Wills, a longtime member of the Elbert County GOP and county chair for seven years. He used his time to attack Gov. Jared Polis and the legislature for not caring about rural Colorado.

“Gov. Polis doesn’t care about the beef industry,” he said. He also went after Shoshana Lew, the executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation, for having a history degree rather than construction or engineering experience.

After Wills, the electors cast their votes. Bill Howell, a delegate from Elbert County who wore an American flag bandanna on his head, said that he took notes during the speeches and felt that Wills was an excellent speaker and came across as most prepared.

“I heard one of them talking about reaching across the aisle and knowing members of both parties, and it’s kind of bold. You definitely have to keep an open mind to a point,” he said, adding that bipartisanship was not particularly important to him, but “there’s something to that.”

Jacqueline and Art Evans from Elbert County said that “strong support for our values in rural Colorado,” including support for the Second Amendment, was what they wanted to hear.

“A dynamic speaker,” was an additional criterion for Art.

Gary Barta, on the other hand, admitted that talk of the Second Amendment and abortion was not at the top of his personal agenda.

“What I was looking for was what they can do for our local problems,” the Las Animas County delegate said. “Roads. Schools. The basic needs that we have.”

Barta said that walking into the meeting, he was disposed to honoring the wishes of the Lewis family and consequently supported Louden on the first vote.

Stalemate ensues

After the votes were tallied, Wills had 38; Louden had 32; Holtorf had 30; Vigil had 10; and Orcutt had five. Orcutt dropped out of the race, asking his supporters to get behind Wills.

Before the next round, Holtorf told delegates that he would visit all nine counties if selected. Louden took the time to deride public education, saying, “while we were all working, the liberals were taking over our schools. We still have a lot of conservative school boards, but the teachers coming in are liberal.”

Wills asked how many people had received an e-mail from him, and nearly all delegates raised their hands. He described lessons he learned from his work as a school bus driver that he would take to the state Capitol, including “leave on time. Have a schedule. And be safe.”

The second round of voting left Wills in the lead with 42 delegates; Louden with 36; Holtorf with 35; and Vigil with two. Vigil released his delegates to vote their conscience, while Wills said, “I don’t know what else to tell you at this point…. God is in charge.”

A tally of third-round votes resulted in Wills leading with 45 votes; Holtorf with 41; and Louden with 29. Louden grasped at the image of being the natural heir to Lewis, telling delegates about the nature of his relationship with the late representative.

“I wanted to emphasize this time around that Kimmi and I worked together — and I mean together — on a lot of things,” he said. “We talked a lot. Even now when the phone rings at 4:30 in the morning, I think it’s Kimmi. But it’s not.”

Amy Vice, a Lincoln County delegate, called the situation “not surprising,” given that there were three strong candidates. “I did see more information and I got more phone calls on three of them,” she said.

During the voting, party chair Bob Lewis huddled with the three remaining candidates.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Louden said afterward. “I don’t see much movement.”

Wills remained in the delegate area, talking to the electors. Holtorf and Louden retreated to the back of the room.

“Richard Holtorf is not a hometown boy. I wasn’t Kimmi Lewis’s neighbor. I wasn’t a close associate of Kimmi’s,” Holtorf said, sizing up his own position. “Mack Louden has a very strong support base from his association of Kimmi Lewis. I don’t have that relationship.”

He shrugged. “What more can I do at this point?”

When the results of the fourth ballot came in, there had been some movement. Holtorf now led with 50 delegates; Wills was in second place with 43; and Louden had 22.

“Wow, that changed,” exclaimed someone in the back.

Lewis said that the candidates had agreed to extend speaking time from one minute per person to three minutes, and to allow others to speak on their behalf. However, the delegates rejected the proposal on voice vote with a resounding “no.” Fatigue was beginning to set in, as numerous people flitted to the window for glimpses of the snowstorm outside.

One victor, two primary opponents

Before the next round, there were some rhetorical shifts among the candidates. Holtorf, who previously spoke of the need to “fight,” now told delegates how bipartisan he would be.

“I believe I can reach across the aisle. I think I can be persuasive,” he said. “We have to talk to a lot of Democrats and we have to convince them. You have to touch their emotional nerve to try and win their support.”

Louden, on the other hand, revealed that it was Kimmi Lewis’s dying wish that he fill her seat.

“I’m going to tell you about the conversation that I had with Kimmi prior to her going to Mexico this last time. She said, ‘Mack, it’s back. And I don’t know if I’m going to get over it,’” referring to cancer. “‘Would you consider running in my place?’”

He also warned the southeastern Colorado delegates that only he could represent their interests.

“We’re going to lose if we’ve got representatives on the north end of this,” he said of his two opponents from Elbert and Washington counties.

While the fifth-round votes were counted, Louden and Holtorf spoke off to the side. Barta, the Las Animas County delegate, disclosed that he voted for Holtorf on the previous ballot, but was persuaded by Louden’s fearful appeal to the property rights of southeastern Colorado residents.

“When Mack got up and started talking about how the Army’s coming back for Piñon Canyon, and I live right next to Piñon Canyon, I went back to Mack,” he said. When asked if he knew whether what Louden said was true, Barta said, “that’s what we hear, but who knows? I just got to thinking that maybe the people in the north end of the district don’t care as much about Piñon Canyon.”

He searched for words. “I just have this feeling that Elbert County and this area is more metro area and that’s not good for us down south.”

When the vote total came in, the writing on the wall was apparent. Holtorf was one shy of a majority with 57 votes. Wills had 35 and Louden picked up one vote, with 23.

Taking the stage for the last time, Louden said he was recommending that his delegates now vote for Holtorf, while taking a swipe at Wills.

“I think Elbert County is going to get out of this district,” he said, referring to the redrawing of district boundaries after the 2020 census. “I think we need a candidate who is from this district and is going to be in this district.”

Afterward, Louden said that during his huddle with Holtorf, “I just told him that it was going to continue to go. I was going to throw my support to him.”

When asked about his appeal to delegates not to vote for a man from the northern part of the district, Louden said Holtorf had promised to visit all of the counties, and he was “at peace” with the outcome.

“I’m going to run” in the primary, he added. He had informed Holtorf of his decision.

Barta, for his part, disclosed that he had switched back to Holtorf, giving him the 58th vote if previous support held.

The sixth round of voting ratified the result: Holtorf clinched 70 votes. House GOP leader Rep. Patrick Neville, R-Castle Rock, was in attendance to meet the new legislator. He said Holtorf would be “drinking from a fire hose,” and was pleased to have another Army veteran in the House.

In his acceptance speech, Holtort reassured the southeastern delegates that he would be vigilant on the Piñon Canyon expansion.

”The Army doesn’t need any more land. They don’t need your property,” he said to applause.

As people lined up to congratulate Holtorf, one attendee from Elbert County fumed at Louden’s final comments.

“Were you aware we were about to be redistricted out of the 64th?” she asked sarcastically. “Kimmi Lewis would have never told a lie like that at the microphone.”

The Elbert County GOP chair ushered her out of earshot.

Holtorf said afterward that before Louden threw his support to Holtorf, the two men had talked about “Kimmi Lewis’s legacy and fighting for the things that Kimmi Lewis would have done in her last year of her term. And I told that family I would do everything I could to support that.”

He said he would meet her family and try to champion those issues Lewis cared about.

Louden walked up to bid farewell to Holtorf. “Let’s be friends,” Holtorf told him. “If you beat me in the next election, so be it. It’s the will of the people.”