The Republican and Democrat parties are teeing up exactly what Americans and Coloradans don’t want in 2024 – a rematch of the 2020 presidential election. Among Republicans, Donald Trump maintains a major lead against his nearest rival by nearly 40 points. Among Democrats, President Biden maintains a nearly 50-point lead over his nearest rival. Yet, two-thirds of American voters don’t want either of these candidates on the 2024 ballot.

Today, more Americans are leaving the Republican and Democrat parties and identifying as unaffiliated voters. In Colorado, unaffiliated voters are the largest voting block at 47%, followed by Democrats at 27%, and Republicans at 24%. And the trend is increasingly toward unaffiliated voter registration across most of the United States. Meantime, our two shrinking political parties are poised to offer a choice between two 80-year-old men of mediocre character and corrupted sensibilities to lead America and the free world.

And the Colorado GOP Central Committee is onboard, full steam ahead.

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The bastion of the Colorado GOP, El Paso County, approved a resolution in April to “censure and condemn in the strongest possible terms” nearly three dozen elected Republican officials, nominees, and volunteers because they weren’t conservative enough. In fact, they’re doubling down even though most Republican candidates in the 2022 midterm election lost to Democrats by double digits in Colorado. Even U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (CD-03) barely scraped by with a mere 546 votes over her opponent Adam Frisch after a recount. She was favored to win by such a high margin the Republican Party barely subsidized her campaign. Today, she is one of more than a dozen Republicans targeted by Democrats to flip her seat in 2024. Adam Frisch is running against her again and so far, has raised three times the campaign contributions she has.

Meanwhile, the Colorado GOP Central Committee’s new chairman, Dave Williams, is focused on purging so called “Republicans in Name Only” (RINOs) from the state party instead of appealing to the growing electorate of unaffiliated voters. During his acceptance speech in March 2023, he said he’d oppose any Republican he believes isn’t conservative enough. He even sent a letter admonishing fellow Republicans Doug Lamborn, Barbara Kirkmeyer, and others for compromising on tough legislation. Compromise is something the minority party must do to get things done sometimes. He’s also been working to have the Colorado GOP opt out of the 2024 primary. Now let’s add the fact that the Colorado GOP is reported to no longer be paying staff and still paying $4,000 in rent for offices in Greenwood Village that are usually closed. Sound like a winning formula for 2024?

The truth is the winning formula for Colorado Republicans in 2024 is to recognize the growing number of unaffiliated voters. A good lesson is looking at the 2022 midterm election turnout. While 49% of Republicans nationwide turned out to vote versus 43% of Democrats in the 2022 midterms, according to AP VoteCast, unaffiliated voters cast more ballots for Democrats. In Arizona, 55% of the unaffiliated voted for Democrat Mark Kelly over Trump-endorsed Republican Blake Masters for Senate. The case was similar in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and many other states. Contrast that with Florida where Republicans separated the Trump identity from candidates and Gov. Ron DeSantis beat his Democrat opponent with 53% to 45% of the unaffiliated vote.

So, what do the unaffiliated voters want? Clearly, they don’t want the message coming from Truth Social. And they certainly don’t want four years of congressional inquiries, impeachment hearings, courtroom drama, and the accompanying 24/7 media coverage that would come with it. They want real solutions to issues facing America and Colorado – the economy, affordable housing, quality public education, border security, drug abuse, and high crime. These are the issues that resonate with the unaffiliated voter and are opportunities for the Republican Party.

President Trump’s policies were great for America, but they were conventional conservative principles delivered by administrators he now calls “RINOs” According to a Gallup poll last October, 48% of unaffiliated voters lean Republican compared to 42% who lean Democrat. Assuming those numbers hold true nearly a year later, Colorado is ripe for change. But the Republican message needs to change, and it can’t be driven from Mar-a-Lago. The unaffiliated voter wants a serious party with serious solutions. But today’s Republican Party is anything but serious. We would do well to move beyond Donald Trump’s cult of personality, unite as a party, and begin appealing to the unaffiliated voting bloc. Until then, it might be considered a compliment to be a labeled a “RINO.”

Pete Wood was the chairman of the Routt County Republican Central Committee from August 2020 to February 2023. He is a retired U.S. Navy officer and lives in Steamboat Springs.