Former Colorado Republican Party chairman Dick Wadhams is sick of losing, but he predicts his party’s misfortunes will continue if the GOP keeps nominating unelectable candidates.  

Wadhams doesn’t hold back, naming names, including gubernatorial contender Dan Maes and U.S Senate candidate Darryl Glenn. Wadhams points to them as the chief GOP bunglers, but he lists others, too

And Wadhams, during his talks to two separate GOP groups, upset some by maintaining that Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Trump, and the November election wasn’t stolen.

“Let me tell you why Donald Trump lost,” Wadhams said. “His behavior drove people away.”

He predicts Colorado Republicans stand a chance of winning in 2022 if they nominate the right candidates to take on the top Colorado Democrats, Gov. Jared Polis and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, who is running for his third term.

“I’m just sick of losing for no reason, and we’ve seen it over and over again,” Wadhams said. “Bill Owens is the only Republican who has been elected governor in 50 years and that statistic alone says something has gone wrong for us and we need to think about it.”

Wadhams, who has an encyclopedic knowledge of Colorado politics, is a frequent guest on the political speaking circuit, and regularly is asked to weigh in after an election and talk about what to expect two years down the road. The coronavirus delayed those November and December outings, but in-person gatherings are coming back.

Wadhams spoke to the Cherry Creek Republican Women in Aurora on Feb. 9, and at the South Weld Republican breakfast in Platteville on Feb. 13. Both events were packed.

I was a little late to the Platteville breakfast because I was almost to Greeley before realizing I had overshot the location. As I raced back south on U.S. 85, I looked for a DoubleTree hotel all the while muttering, “I’ve driven by this tiny spot of a town a zillion times and there’s no fancy hotel.” If I had read the invite carefully I would have seen the meeting was being held at the one-story, farm implement-themed Double Tree Restaurant and Lounge.

I knew it was going to be an interesting meeting when, after the prayer, 75-year-old Weld County resident Karen Korin added, “And pray for the real president, Donald Trump.”

Wadhams praised Trump for his “tremendous” tax cut and “remarkable” decisions at the Environmental Protection Agency. And he noted that among Trump’s many judicial appointments were two Coloradans known for their sharp legal minds: Allison Eid, now on the 10th Circuit, and Dan Domenico, who is a U.S. District Court judge.

But Wadhams pointed out that Trump’s own pollster said the president didn’t appeal to suburban women, college graduates and the blue-collar white men who voted for him in 2016. 

Korin bet a bottle of wine that proof of a stolen election would emerge. Wadhams  declined to take the bet.

“You believe what you want to believe. I know what I believe and I’ve been around this business for a long time,” said Wadhams, who has been running U.S. Senate elections in Colorado since 1990, oversaw Owens’ first gubernatorial race and served two terms as GOP chair.

I turned to Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer of Weld County who was seated next to me. “This,” I said, “is part of the problem.”

But Wadhams is optimistic for 2022. The midterms are notoriously tough on the party in power in the White House. And he predicts Democrats will overreach in Washington and in Colorado, where they hold every statewide office and the legislature.

Wadhams criticized Polis on several fronts, including the administration’s handling of the $1.2 billion Interstate 70 widening project through north Denver that is over budget and behind schedule. He also blasted Polis’ efforts to move the state away from private prisons, saying those facilities provide property taxes and good wages in rural counties such as Bent and Crowley. 

“The assault on rural Colorado is real and it has been going on for years,” Wadhams said.

He pointed to the effort underway by some to relocate Weld County to Colorado’s neighbor to the north, Wyoming. Wadhams doubts it will happen but he said it’s important to look at why the defection is being talked about. Backers say the state is at war with three major economic drivers for Weld County: small businesses, agriculture and oil and gas.

“It was funny to watch Governor Polis suddenly decide he loves Weld County,” Wadhams said. “He told the Wyoming governor, ‘Keep your hands off Weld County.’ He didn’t complete his sentence, ‘Keep your hands off Weld County — because I’m not done destroying it.'”

Wadhams noted that since the GOP’s standout performance in 2002, Republicans have won only one race for senator or governor. That was in 2014 when Congressman Cory Gardner defeated the Democratic incumbent,  U.S. Sen. Mark Udall. But Gardner lost last November to former Gov. John Hickenlooper.

“Were those other elections not winnable? Did we just have no chance? I would argue absolutely not,” Wadhams said. 

Wadhams mentioned Republicans who have run for top offices.

Maes’ resume turned out to be a fraud, helping Hickenlooper win the governor’s race in 2010. And after winning the 2016 primary for senator, Glenn briefly disappeared, only to return and campaign primarily in front of Republicans. That allowed Bennet to win a second term.

He outlined some races: Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck’s last-minute gaffes led to a Bennet victory in 2010. Beer baron Pete Coors was uncomfortable in the political arena and lost the 2004 U.S. Senate race to Democrat Ken Salazar. Congressman Bob Beauprez lost two bids for governor, in 2006 and 2014. 

And state Treasurer Walker Stapleton fell short in his race against Polis in 2018. Wadhams said Stapleton had no chance because of Trump’s impact on Colorado voters and Polis’ personal wealth, but they weren’t the only factors.

“Can anybody tell me what Walker Stapleton’s agenda was?” Wadhams asked.

Wadhams ran Owens’ first campaign for governor and said the Arapahoe County Republican ran on three “very clear” issues: cutting taxes, improving transportation and reforming education. Owens eked out a victory, but won re-election in a landslide, Wadhams maintains, “because he did what he said he would.”

Say what you want about Wadhams calling out his own, but it’s a lot braver than what is happening in the Colorado Democratic Party. 

I’ve had conversations with Democrats who are frustrated with Polis on several fronts, including his support for a tax cut, but publicly they praise him.

My colleague Joey Bunch recently wrote about how some prominent Democrats are among those peeved that Polis’ husband, Marlon Reis, found his way to the front of the essential worker line for a COVID-19 vaccination this month. They didn’t want to go on the record.

The headline on Bunch’s article read: “Polis takes a shot at defeating himself next year.”

Republicans can only pray – and find the right candidate.