January 23, 2024 12:18 PM UTC

Chaos Reigns As Colorado House GOP Struggles To Oust Minority Leader Lynch

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• by: Colorado Pols

On Monday, Colorado GOP House Minority Leader Mike Lynch survived a no-confidence vote in response to recently disclosed DUI and gun charge convictions from September of 2022 for which Lynch is currently serving probation. The vote to remove Lynch as House Minority Leader was 9-9 with one other member, Rep. Stephanie Luck, out on maternity leave. Rep. Luck’s absence was the decisive factor in Lynch’s survival, as the Colorado Sun’s Jesse Paul reported late yesterday:

Lynch may have survived the vote Monday, but his leadership position is still in peril. The Republican representative who missed the vote, Stephanie Luck of Penrose, was absent because she recently had a baby. She tried to join the caucus meeting remotely after the initial 9-9 vote was taken, but the gathering was adjourned despite objections from Lynch’s opponents…

Today, Rep. Scott Bottoms attempted once again to convene the Republican caucus for another vote of no-confidence only to be rebuffed by Rep. Richard Holtorf, Lynch’s CD-4 congressional primary opponent:

At one point, Colorado Republican Party chairman Dave “Let’s Go Brandon” Williams was on the scene plotting with Bottoms, though we haven’t heard if Luck has made the trip to Denver after yesterday’s apparent snubbing via teleconference. In the end, the next caucus meeting was set for Thursday, though Bottoms says he’ll push for another meeting tomorrow. As long as Rep. Luck participates either remotely or by showing up just for this one vote, the votes are there as of this writing to pass the no-confidence motion.

After which you’d think that Lynch’s days as Minority Leader would be over, right? Think again, maybe:

In short, even if the motion of no confidence is successful, Lynch may attempt to hold on to his position as Minority Leader? We’re getting into uncharted territory here, because we’ve frankly never seen a legislative leader so arrogantly determined to keep his job as to defy a vote of no confidence in his leadership. Such a vote directly indicates that you have no authority to lead, so continuing to call yourself “Leader” doesn’t make any sense. At this point, Lynch speaks for less than half of the GOP’s 1/3 micro-minority.

Mike Lynch isn’t the first Colorado lawmaker who be slapped with a DUI charge, but Lynch’s persistent lack of remorse for both his convictions and the clearly improper attempts Lynch made to cover up the news of his arrest betray a strikingly different response than the public contrition and willing acceptance of punishment including loss of leadership positions and future political aspirations demonstrated by other lawmakers who find themselves in similar trouble. It’s evident by now that Lynch has no intention of apologizing to the House for his behavior or voluntarily stepping down from leadership, both of which are the established precedent in this situation.

Lynch is in deep denial, and now he’s bunkering defensively. It’s a messy process, but these are almost always in hindsight stages of grief ahead of the inevitable.

Lynch’s enemies have the votes.