Dave Williams (Colorado politician) explained

Dave Williams
Office:Chair of the Colorado Republican Party
Term Start:March 11, 2023
Predecessor:Kristi Burton Brown
State House1:Colorado
District1:15th
Term Start1:January 11, 2017
Term End1:January 9, 2023
Predecessor1:Gordon Klingenschmitt
Successor1:Scott Bottoms
Birth Name:David Alan Williams[1]
Birth Date:20 July 1986
Birth Place:Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
Party:Republican
Education:University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (BA)

David Alan Williams (born July 20, 1986)[2] is an American far-right[3] [4] [5] [6] politician from Colorado Springs, Colorado who has served as Chair of the Colorado Republican Party since 2023, having previously represented Colorado House of Representatives District 15 from 2017 to 2023, which encompassed Colorado Springs and Cimarron Hills in El Paso County.

Williams was a candidate for Colorado's 5th congressional district in the 2024 elections, running to replace the retiring Doug Lamborn.[7] He lost the primary election to Republican Jeff Crank.[8] [9] [10] Williams ran with the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.

Career

Between 2008 and 2020 Williams was a vice president of logistics for MKW Global, a family business.[11] [12]

Williams was first elected to the State House in 2016 after winning 67.84% of the vote.[13]

Williams was the first Latino elected to House District 15.[14] His mother's maiden name is "Sanchez" and their family has roots going back to Mexico and Southern California.[15]

A supporter of Donald Trump, Williams has questioned the results of the 2020 presidential election and has promoted false claims of voter fraud.[16] [17] [18]

On December 7, 2020, Williams and seven other Republicans requested to the Speaker of the House KC Becker that a committee be formed on "election integrity" to conduct an audit of the Dominion Voting Systems used in Colorado's 2020 elections in spite of no evidence of issues. The request was rejected, with Becker criticizing it as a promotion of "debunked conspiracy theories."[19]

In July 2021, Williams and Ron Hanks held a town hall at Colorado Springs in which both made multiple false claims of election fraud. Williams claimed that 5,600 dead people voted in the 2020 Colorado elections and that fraud played a role in Democrat John Hickenlooper's victory against Republican Cory Gardner.

In December 2021, Williams announced his campaign bid aimed at challenging Rep. Doug Lamborn.[20] He attempted to get listed on the ballot as Dave "Let's Go Brandon" Williams, but this was rejected by Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold.[21] In the 2022 Republican primary election for Colorado's 5th congressional district, incumbent representative Doug Lamborn defeated Williams and two other Republican Party challengers.[22]

During the 2022 legislative session, Williams and the majority of Republicans rejected a resolution passed by the state house meant to urge congress to pass voting right legislation. Williams proposed two failed amendments to the resolution which included calling for an audit of the 2020 election, thanking the pro-Trump rioters that stormed the Capitol and decertifying the election results in favor for Trump.[23]

On March 11, 2023, Williams was elected chair of the Colorado Republican Party for a two-year term.[24] Williams' position as chairman of the party has been controversial among several other Republicans.[25] [26] Under his leadership, the party has faced a significant loss of funding, and an increase in infighting.[27] [28] [29]

On January 8, 2024, Williams announced that he was again running for Colorado's 5th congressional district in the 2024 elections, running for the seat of retiring congressman Doug Lamborn.[7] In March 2024, he was criticized by campaign opponents for MKW Global's importation of Chinese products during his tenure as vice president.

On April 6, 2024, Colorado Sun reporter Sandra Fish was disinvited to a state GOP assembly in Pueblo because a spokesman for Williams said he considered "her current reporting to be very unfair". Fish came to the event and presented her press credentials to gain entry, but was escorted out of the assembly by law enforcement who told her, "You have to be invited here. They don't want you here". Soon after, Williams called Fish a "fake journalist" and her newspaper "just an extension of the Democrat Party’s PR efforts".[30]

In early June 2024, the Colorado GOP sent out a mass email signed by Dave Williams titled 'God Hates Pride,' and reading in part “The month of June has arrived and, once again, the godless groomers in our society want to attack what is decent, holy, and righteous so they can ultimately harm our children.” The email message contained an image reading “God Hates Flags”, which was widely viewed as a reference to the Westboro Baptist Church. Colorado Republican Congressional candidate Valdamar Archuleta “renounced the GOP’s endorsement as a result.”[31] Aurora city councilman Curtis Gardner renounced his membership in the Colorado GOP and issued a post on Facebook condemning the party for its anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.[32] [33]

In June 2024, Williams lost the primary election for Colorado's 5th congressional district to Republican Jeff Crank. This race was characterized as a "battle" for the "soul" of the GOP in Colorado,[34] [35] with Williams representing the far-right, election-denying side of the party, and Crank representing the a more traditional conservative version of the party.

Colorado Politician Accountability Act

During the first year of his first term (2017), Williams introduced a bill (HB17-1134) titled the "Colorado Politician Accountability Act". The bill was designed to crack down on sanctuary cities by allowing public officials of sanctuary cities who had not sought to overturn the local sanctuary law to be sued by citizens if an illegal alien committed a crime, and also by making elected officials of sanctuary jurisdictions liable to penalties for "rendering assistance to an illegal alien".[36] [37] [38] The bill was defeated in the House but Williams and two Senate co-sponsors reintroduced it with few changes in 2018 as HB18-1178,[39] [40] where it failed to become law.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Fish . Sandra . 2023-03-11 . Dave Williams elected to lead battered Colorado GOP for next two years . 2024-03-29 . The Colorado Sun . en-US.
  2. Web site: Richardson . Valerie . April 18, 2022 . Colorado Republican sues to have ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ included on ballot . March 29, 2024 . The Washington Times.
  3. Web site: Frank . John . 2022-06-29 . What Tuesday's primary election tells us about Colorado politics in 2022 . 2022-11-24 . Axios . en.
  4. Web site: Woodruff . Chase . October 17, 2022 . Trump blasts ‘RINO’ Senate candidate Joe O’Dea as Colorado ballots go out . 2022-11-24 . Colorado Newsline . en-US.
  5. Web site: April 8, 2022 . Far-right challengers gaining ground ahead of GOP primary . 2022-11-24 . KUSA.com . en-US.
  6. Web site: 2023-03-12 . Colorado GOP selects combative, election-denying new leader - CBS Colorado . 2024-02-15 . www.cbsnews.com . en-US.
  7. Web site: Dave Williams, chairman of Colorado GOP, announces bid to replace Doug Lamborn in Congress. Paul. Jesse. January 8, 2024. January 8, 2024. The Colorado Sun.
  8. Web site: 2024-06-26 . Election 2024 updates: GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert wins Colorado primary, progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman loses in N.Y. . 2024-06-26 . NBC News . en.
  9. Web site: 2024-06-26 . Republican Who Called For Pride Flags To Be Burned Loses GOP Primary Race In Colorado . 2024-06-26 . HuffPost . en.
  10. Web site: 2024-06-25 . Rep. Lauren Boebert wins GOP primary after switching Colorado districts; Hurd, Crank also notch wins . 2024-06-26 . AP News . en.
  11. Web site: Boyd . Shaun . 2024-03-19 . Trade data reveals Colorado GOP Chair Dave Williams' business dealings with the Chinese - CBS Colorado . 2024-03-29 . www.cbsnews.com . en-US.
  12. Williams, Dave. Meet Dave. Viewed: 2017-01-18.
  13. Web site: Official Certified Results November 8, 2016 General Election: State Representative - District 15. Secretary of State of Colorado. 2018-06-10.
  14. Web site: Rep. Dave Williams. www.cohousegop.com. en-US. 2018-06-02.
  15. News: Peter Boyles Show - Feb 3, 2017 - Hr 3. PodBean Development. 2018-06-02. en.
  16. Web site: Burness. Alex. 2021-08-17. Colorado’s far-right pushes to close primaries, which would exclude millions of voters. live. 2021-08-21. The Denver Post. en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20210817121149/https://www.denverpost.com/2021/08/17/colorado-gop-open-primaries/ . 2021-08-17 .
  17. Web site: Beedle. Heidi. 5 August 2021. El Paso County Republicans embrace the Big Lie. live. 2021-09-28. Colorado Springs Indy. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20210804085427/https://www.csindy.com/news/el-paso-county-republicans-embrace-the-big-lie/article_e555170c-f474-11eb-a6a2-ab9aba6c06e2.html . 2021-08-04 .
  18. Web site: O'Rourke. James. 2022-01-31. CO Springs Congressional Candidate Doubles Down on the 'Big Lie'. live. 2022-02-15. Colorado Times Recorder. en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20220202134820/https://coloradotimesrecorder.com/2022/01/co-springs-congressional-candidate-doubles-down-on-the-big-lie/42734/ . 2022-02-02 .
  19. Web site: Hindi. Saja. 2020-12-08. GOP demand for probe of Colorado’s Dominion voting system part of "debunked conspiracy theories," House speaker says. live. 2022-01-07. The Denver Post. https://web.archive.org/web/20201208001918/https://www.denverpost.com/2020/12/07/colorado-republicans-dominion-investigation/ . 2020-12-08 .
  20. Web site: Paul. Jesse. Fish. Sandra. 2021-12-14. State Rep. Dave Williams launches primary challenge to Republican Congressman Doug Lamborn. live. 2021-12-17. The Colorado Sun. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20211214161257/https://coloradosun.com/2021/12/14/dave-williams-doug-lamborn-5th-congressional-district/ . 2021-12-14 .
  21. Web site: "Let’s Go Brandon" can’t be Colorado congressional candidates nickname on ballot, judge says . April 27, 2022 . The Denver Post . Nick . Coltrain.
  22. Web site: Primary election results, June 28, 2022 . . July 5, 2022 . 24 . Colorado Secretary of State . December 8, 2022 .
  23. Web site: 2022-01-18 . Majority of Colorado House Republicans vote for supporting Jan. 6 crowd, election conspiracy theories . 2023-07-24 . Denver 7 Colorado News (KMGH) . en.
  24. News: Birkeland . Bente . March 11, 2023 . Colorado Republicans pick former state Rep. Dave Williams to lead party . CPR News . Colorado . March 12, 2023.
  25. Web site: Soicher . Spencer . 2023-06-16 . 'Stick to the role, Dave': Colorado Republicans question actions of new state party chair . 2023-07-24 . KRDO . en-US.
  26. Web site: Fish . Jesse Paul, Sandra . 2023-03-16 . Dave Williams’ election as Colorado GOP chair has set off some Republican alarm bells. He says people should "relax." . 2023-07-24 . The Colorado Sun . en-US.
  27. Web site: Kim . Bente Birkeland,Caitlyn . In rare move, Colorado GOP goes after Republican Congressman . 2023-07-24 . Colorado Public Radio . en.
  28. Web site: 2023-06-21 . Colorado Republican party sees cashflow, spending plummet with election losses and leadership change . 2023-07-24 . The Denver Post . en-US.
  29. Web site: Frank . John . 26 June 2023 . Colorado GOP Marred by Infighting Under New Leader Dave Williams . Axios Denver.
  30. Web site: Brown . Jennifer . 6 April 2024 . Colorado Sun politics reporter kicked out of GOP state assembly .
  31. Web site: 4 June 2024 . Colorado Republican Party issues call to burn all Pride flags .
  32. Web site: Gardner . Curtis . Facebook . www.facebook.com.
  33. Web site: Aurora councilman Curtis Gardner leaves Colorado GOP in wake of party’s anti-LGBTQ+ messages . Denver 7 Colorado News (KMGH) . en . 6 June 2024.
  34. Web site: Fish . Sandra . 2024-06-05 . Republican primary in Colorado's 5th Congressional District becomes $1 million fight for soul of GOP . 2024-06-26 . The Colorado Sun . en-US.
  35. Web site: ernest.luning@coloradopolitics.com . Ernest Luning . 2024-06-25 . Jeff Crank trounces Dave Williams in GOP primary in Colorado's 5th Congressional District . 2024-06-26 . Colorado Politics . en.
  36. News: Ximena . Leyte . Immigration policies spark debate between Colorado state representatives . Boulder Weekly . February 16, 2017 .
  37. News: Brian . Eason . Colorado lawmaker wants to let victims of crimes committed by immigrants sue politicians in 'sanctuary cities' . The Denver Post . January 30, 2017 . subscription required .
  38. Web site: Hold Colorado Government Accountable Sanctuary Jurisdictions . Colorado General Assembly. 2018-06-02.
  39. News: Jesse . Paul . Colorado’s 'sanctuary city' officials would face lawsuits, felony charge in return of GOP lawmakers’ longshot measure . The Denver Post . March 13, 2018 . subscription required.
  40. Web site: Hold Colorado Governments Accountable Sanctuary Jurisdictions . Colorado General Assembly. 2018-06-10.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Dave Williams (Colorado politician)".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.