Republican state Rep. Richard Holtorf, one of the GOP candidates running for the congressional seat formerly held by Republican Ken Buck, on Tuesday called on Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams to resign after the state party formally endorsed U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert in the primary and attacked another Republican seeking the nomination.

In a statement to Colorado Politics, Holtorf accused Williams of hijacking the state party to support his own political ambition by pushing a series of changes to party rules that allow the party to endorse candidates who qualify for the primary at party assemblies, instead of petitioning onto the ballot.

“Dave Williams should resign so a fair and impartial Republican primary campaign can take place,” Holtorf said. “The State Central Committee should revoke all individual candidate endorsements in all contested races to return the Republican process to a fair and transparent election cycle.”

Referring to Williams, the Akron lawmaker added: “His draconian leadership is now setting a very dangerous precedent for the Colorado Republican party to follow. No one person should be able to use undue influence or indirectly force a preferred slate of candidates onto the primary ballot using his position as the State Party Chair. Hundreds of thousands of Republicans may become alienated in the process.”

It’s the latest in a string of accusations, insults and demands flying between Republican candidates and party officials in the wake of the state GOP’s recent, unprecedented decision to take sides in primaries.

Williams – a former state legislator from Colorado Springs who is himself running in a contested primary in a neighboring congressional district – told Colorado Politics on Tuesday that he isn’t going anywhere.

“If Holtorf wishes to stand against the near unanimous majority of convention delegates and President Trump, then he’s definitely going to lose in June,” Williams said in a text message.

Trump, who has endorsed Boebert’s and Williams’ congressional bids, defended Williams in a post on Truth Social, the social media platform co-founded by the former president.

“Dave Williams, the Chairman of the Colorado Republican Party who also, fortunately for the people of Colorado, happens to be running for Congress, is under Fake News assault because he is doing such a strong job as an advocate for MAGA,” Trump posted, adding that Williams and others will help Trump “WIN COLORADO.”

Since Trump’s election in 2016, Republicans haven’t won a single statewide race in the once-purple state, and recent polling shows Trump trailing Democrat Joe Biden by double digits.

Holtorf’s demand that Williams resign came a day after the state GOP posted on social media that the party was “proud to endorse” Boebert, calling the two-term incumbent “the only candidate in the race with a backbone & proven record of success fighting the corrupt media & failed establishment in Washington D.C.”

Boebert won top-line designation in the 4th Congressional District primary at a GOP assembly in Pueblo on Friday. Earlier this year, she moved from the more competitive district she currently represents into Buck’s solidly Republican district.

Two other candidates – Holtorf and former state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg of Fort Lupton – failed to land a spot in the primary at the assembly but got enough delegate votes to qualify if petitions they submitted last month have enough valid signatures. Four additional Republican candidates for the seat are also awaiting rulings on their petitions.

In the same tweet that endorsed Boebert on Monday, the Colorado GOP blasted Deborah Flora, a primary candidate who has already qualified for the ballot by petition. The state GOP called the Republican a liar and claimed she was “boot licking fake journalists who only help Democrats,” while comparing her to “dishonest, say-anything politicians.”

Flora had earlier criticized the state party on social media for ejecting a reporter from the state assembly because Williams considered her coverage “very unfair.”

“This is wrong and a violation of the First Amendment,” tweeted Flora, linking to a Colorado Politics reporter’s account of the journalist’s removal. “We need to instill pride in our party and win over Coloradans through our principles and shared values. This action goes against that.”

Williams later replied to Flora’s criticism directly, seconding an assessment by state Rep. Brandi Bradley, R-Littleton, who told Flora she is “on the wrong side of this.”

Tweeted Williams: “There’s no justification to support the fake news media who are nothing more than an extension of the Democrat Party.”

Flora fired back at Williams in a statement to Colorado Politics.

“I’ve been fighting for the principles of this party long before Lauren Boebert and Dave Williams’ antics have been turning voters away,” Flora said. “They are attacking me because I am the clear alternative to their drama and division as the ‘Conservative Fighter’ CD4 can be proud of bringing real solutions to the hard-working families of this district.”

For his part, Holtorf told Colorado Politics that he plans to press his case against Williams and what he characterized as the party chairman’s “unethical endorsements and changes to bylaws and resolutions.”

“That’s not what the state party’s supposed to do, and that’s not what the leader of the state party’s supposed to do,” Holtorf said. “He’s a self-serving son of a bitch. It’s all about Dave, it’s not about the party or people.”