Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has hired former state Rep. Justin Everett as its Colorado state director, the Colorado Republican Party announced Friday,

The move comes less than a month before mail ballots are set to go out for Colorado’s March 5 presidential primary, where Trump is set to face three other Republicans in a vote to determine how the state GOP will apportion delegates to the Republican National Convention.

On Sunday, the state Republican central committee formally endorsed Trump in an unprecedented break from the party’s longstanding practice of staying neutral in primaries.

After representing a Jefferson County house district for three terms, from 2013-2019, Everett lost a primary for state treasurer in 2018 and failed to unseat the Republican incumbent in a 2020 bid to win back his old seat.

“Hiring Justin demonstrates that the Trump campaign understands the importance of the grassroots and ground game necessary to win in Colorado,” state GOP Chairman Dave Williams said in an email to party supporters.

The Colorado Supreme Court determined last month that Trump doesn’t qualify to appear on Colorado’s presidential primary ballot on constitutional grounds after a lower court concluded Trump “engaged in insurrection” by inciting rioters who attempted to block the peaceful transfer of power on Jan. 6, 2021. The state’s high court, however, stayed the decision pending a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on appeals filed by Trump and the state GOP, set for a hearing on Feb. 8.

In addition to Trump, Colorado’s Republican presidential primary ballot lists former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas business consultant Ryan Binkley. Three additional GOP candidates suspended their campaigns after the ballot was certified: former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Williams, a former state lawmaker from Colorado Springs who served with Everett in the state House, told Colorado Politics on Friday that the state party won’t use its resources to notify Republicans if any of Trump’s primary rivals hire campaign operatives in the state, citing the party’s recent Trump endorsement.

“We endorsed Trump, so we were happy to make the announcement,” Williams said in a text message. “Additionally, this hire proves the Trump campaign wants to invest in Colorado and notifying the party that we are back on the map is important.”

Williams said he doesn’t know whether Trump will make a stop in Colorado this cycle.

“After hiring Justin it seems like it’s possible,” added Williams, who last week announced his candidacy for the 5th Congressional District seat held by retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn.

Everett didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Williams added that he anticipates Trump will have cleared the field by the time Coloradans’ votes are counted.

“The presidential primary should be over after New Hampshire and, most certainly, after South Carolina,” Williams said. “We expect the other candidates to get behind President Trump by Super Tuesday.”

Trump won this week’s first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses by a historic margin, ahead of second- and third-place finishers DeSantis and Haley, respectively.

New Hampshire holds its primary on Tuesday, with South Carolina Republicans voting a month later on Feb. 24. Another seven states and territories hold their contests before March 5, known as Super Tuesday, when Colorado and 15 other states and territories cast ballots.

Trump won Colorado’s 2020 presidential primary with 92% of the vote against nominal opposition.

The Republican hasn’t campaigned in Colorado since the then-president held a rally in Colorado Springs on Feb. 20, 2020, just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

That fall, Democrat Joe Biden carried the state, defeating Trump by 13.5 percentage points, marking the fourth consecutive win in Colorado by the Democratic nominee.