Austin Hein, who spent 16 months as the communications director for the Colorado House GOP caucus, has launched a bid to challenge House Minority Leader Hugh McKean in the June primary.

Hein was communications director from July 2019 to November 2020 for then-House Minority Leader Patrick Neville, R-Castle Rock.

When Neville stepped down as minority leader in November 2020 after five of the six candidates he backed in the 2020 primaries lost to other candidates, Hein quit to join the National Association for Gun Rights as its director of policy operations. 

NAGR’s Colorado affiliate is Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, whose president, Dudley Brown, has long been associated with Neville and more conservative members of the House GOP caucus. Brown is also the president of NAGR and the board includes Neville’s brother, Joe.

In his announcement Tuesday, Hein said:  “Loveland needs a bold conservative voice representing them in Denver. For too long, Loveland has been represented by someone who caves to even the slightest Democrat pressure. I’m going to change that.”

Since leaving the House GOP, Hein has taken aim at McKean over his votes on guns and the state budget, among others.

Last year, Hein tweeted that McKean had voted in favor of a gun control bill, HB21-1298, which required gun dealers to conduct a backgrounds check before allowing a firearms transfer, and prohibiting that transfer for a variety of reasons, including third-degree assault, a bias-motivated crime, child abuse, sexual assault or unlawful sexual contact or violation of a protection order.

McKean said he accidentally voted in favor of HB 1298 and cast a “no” vote on the bill’s final passage. 

Hein previously worked for Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY, and on the 2014 campaign for Sen. Cory Gardner. 

McKean, R-Loveland, is in his third term in the Colorado House, representing House District 51. He is a general contractor.

During his first two years as Minority Leader, McKean has presided over a caucus divided ideologically between lawmakers in the House GOP caucus. In one instance, Rep. Ron Hanks, R-Cañon City, threatened to throttle McKean. Just over two weeks later, Hanks called for a vote of “no confidence,” which McKean easily won.