Republican congressional candidate Ron Hanks has signed a pledge drafted by Colorado’s Libertarian Party as part of a deal to prevent the state’s largest minor political party from fielding potential spoiler candidates in competitive races.

Under an unprecedented agreement between the Colorado Republican Party and the state’s Libertarians, if Hanks wins next month’s crowded GOP primary in the 3rd Congressional District, the Libertarian candidate plans to withdraw from the general election ballot, theoretically so the third-party candidate won’t siphon off votes from Hanks.

A retired military intelligence officer and former state lawmaker, Hanks is one of six Republicans running for the seat currently held by Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, who moved across the state to run in another district this year after narrowly winning reelection in 2022.

Hanks told Colorado Politics he anticipates that without a Libertarian on the ballot in November, he could benefit from a “1-1.5% swing” in his direction in the vote, if he wins the primary.

“I think we can win this R+7 district by a much wider margin than Rep. Boebert did in 2022,” Hanks said in a text message. “But this should give every voter a bit of confidence that CD3 WILL remain conservative.”

Hanks’ primary rivals include State Board of Education member Stephen Varela and first-time candidates Jeff Hurd, Russ Andrews, Curtis McCrackin and Lew Webb. The GOP nominee will face Democrat Adam Frisch, who came within fewer than 600 votes of unseating Boebert in the last election, when the Libertarians didn’t nominate a candidate in the race.

James Wiley, this year’s Libertarian nominee, said he plans to accompany Hanks on the campaign trail ahead of the June 25 primary.

“Looking forward to campaigning with him next month and hoping for him all the success in the world in the primary,” Wiley said in a text message. “I’m proud to have helped more Republicans arrive at the understanding that the state is our enemy. Our Libertarian Principles are immovable.”

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In addition to agreeing to uphold the U.S. Constitution and work to reduce the size of government, the 13-point pledge commits its signers to work toward abolishing U.S. intelligence agencies, immediately pulling funding from Ukraine and reducing funding for so-called “three-letter agencies,” including the FBI and IRS.

Its signers also pledge not to oppose presidential pardons for Julian Assange, the fugitive founder of WikiLeaks; Edward Snowden, a computer consultant who defected to Russia after leaking highly classified U.S. intelligence; or Ross Ulbricht, who is serving a life sentence for creating an online marketplace used to trade illegal goods and services.

Hanks is the second GOP congressional candidate to sign the Libertarians’ pledge this year, joining former state Rep. Janak Joshi, R-Colorado Springs, one of two Republicans seeking the nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo in the battleground 8th Congressional District.

The Libertarian Party of Colorado counts 37,315 active, registered voters as of May 1 — just under 1% of the state’s 3.8 million active registered voters. While its membership is small, its nominees routinely receive 2-3% of the vote when they’re on the ballot, sometimes exceeding the difference between the two major party candidates in tight races.

Libertarians have long insisted that votes for their candidates wouldn’t automatically otherwise go to Republicans. The state party’s chair, Hannah Goodman, however, said she worked out the agreement with Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams last summer to promote the parties’ shared goals, including making America “a freer and more prosperous country.”

The parties also hope to “break the stranglehold of Democrats’ one-party rule over Colorado,” according to a social media post by the state Libertarian Party’s governing board.