In the sports section of an 1874 Illinois newspaper, a reporter grimaced over another loss by a baseball team called the White Stockings.

“They were badly self-whipped, and in this lies their humiliation,” he wrote. “Were they fairly defeated after having played a creditable game there would be no censure for them; but when they snatch defeat from the jaws of victory there can be little sympathy for their deserved misfortune.”

Now, 148 years later, this narrative might similarly describe the Colorado Republican Party.

On Saturday, nearly 3,800 delegates (including me) gathered at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs for this cycle’s Colorado Republican State Assembly. In a year the GOP should ride a red wave, it may be self-whipping itself into humiliating defeat.

What should have been an exciting day of coalescing around a unifying message descended into something too childish for middle-school student councils.

After a group of “election integrity activists” argued that voting by electronic “clickers” was suspect and insisted upon watermarked paper ballots, a floor fight nearly erupted. The exchange only simmered down once the assembly was informed we might need to stay for two days – and even then, only after a re-vote.

Later, gubernatorial candidate Greg Lopez cut into rival Danielle Neuschwanger’s brand (and possibly her lead) by promising to pardon an election official under felony indictment (Tina Peters) if she is convicted.

Not to be outdone, an attorney who is licensed to practice in Texas – not Colorado – initially made the primary ballot for attorney general after being nominated by Peters’ campaign manager and seconded by convicted felon Rich Wyatt, who also seconded Peters’ nomination. That is, until the candidate was disqualified the next day following revelations he wasn’t even a Republican.

Of course, Peters herself secured the top line in the secretary of state’s race with 61% – even as her disqualifying, serious and disturbing legal troubles loomed over like a dark cloud. The Mesa County clerk was recently indicted by a grand jury and Republican district attorney, including seven felony counts related to an alleged election security breach… in pursuit of “election integrity.”

Peters faces the state ethics commission over allegations that she accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars for her legal defense from MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and others, in violation of Colorado’s ethics rules concerning gifts.

She is also accused of pulling “a Hickenlooper” with a private jet ride and weeks-long hotel stay, both allegedly provided by Lindell in violation of the gift ban. Lindell and Peters headlined an election conspiracy rally in Denver last week.

The real shocker, however, came in the U.S. Senate race. The GOP had three promising candidates: Deborah Flora, Eli Bremer and Gino Campana. They’re all candidates who had a real shot at beating Sen. Michael Bennet by talking about skyrocketing inflation, exposing his partisan Democrat voting record and resisting dogmatic political ideologies in classrooms.

In the end, the assembly proved the admonition that history repeats itself – and the Colorado Republican Party can’t have nice things. A plurality decided to replay the 2010 gubernatorial election, this time in the Senate race.

That year, the wind was at the GOP’s back in a nationwide, Tea Party-led surge. Colorado Republicans nominated Dan Maes, whose campaign utterly crumbled as Republicans fled his candidacy in droves.

Nearly 40% of Saturday’s convention chose the guy (State Rep. Ron Hanks) who opened his speech proclaiming President Donald Trump won his 2020 reelection bid. Earlier, Hanks (as well as Peters) was endorsed onstage by another election conspiracy guru (Joe Oltmann), who once talked about sending “gallows” to Gov. Jared Polis. (“I had to stretch that rope,” he said.) Oltmann was unexpectedly nominated from the floor for governor but declined.

Hanks will face-off against Joe O’Dea (who petitioned on) in the Senate primary. Peters will go up against former Jeffco Clerk Pam Anderson (who petitioned on) and Mike O’Donnell. Heidi Ganahl joins Lopez on the gubernatorial ballot.

In the end, three things are clear. First, the GOP assembly was derailed by self-dealers who are undisturbed by serious allegations of criminal wrongdoing, embrace political stunts and choose flagrantly deceptive campaigning.

Second, a fringe yet vocal group of party activists seem intent on pursuing grievances rather than victory. Settling scores at all costs is not a path to winning elections. Strength in numbers means building coalitions and unifying behind common goals. It is foolish at best to persistently play Political Purity Survivor, kicking every “RINO” off the island and then expecting to retake a state where unaffiliated voters nearly double registered Republicans. That may work at assembly; it won’t in November.

Third, the Republican Party has a genuine opportunity to reset its political fortunes in Colorado. If GOP candidates obsess over vindicating their 2020 election conspiracy theories rather than advancing bold, conservative messages against vulnerable, extreme Democrats, the red wave will evaporate.

The state assembly reflects a shrinking fraction of the Republican Party made up of political insiders and ardent activists. Yet if Republicans don’t get it together by Primary Day, the party will most assuredly snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and earn “little sympathy for their deserved misfortune.”

Grieving fellow Republicans isn’t a strategy. “The 2020 election was stolen” isn’t a winning message. The hard work of persuasion – like engaging with people who disagree – must not take a back seat to the cheap thrills of throwing spitballs in middle school government.

Jimmy Sengenberger is host of “The Jimmy Sengenberger Show” Saturdays from 6-9am on News/Talk 710 KNUS. He also hosts “Jimmy at the Crossroads,” a webshow and podcast in partnership with The Washington Examiner.