February 04, 2016 04:55 PM UTC

Yet Another Republican Primary Fight in Colorado

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the Greeley Tribune reports today:

Mead Republican Colleen Whitlow announced her intent Wednesday to run for the GOP nomination for House District 63.

Whitlow is a town trustee in Mead, and she announced her candidacy in an email to The Tribune. She said she serves on a number of volunteer boards and committees through that position. She has lived in the district since 1999 and is a Colorado native.

Whitlow will face incumbent Lori Saine, R-Dacono, who was first elected to the Colorado House in 2013. Saine filed her paperwork last summer to run again in 2016.

Rep. Saine is a known ally of Dudley Brown and his Rocky Mountain Gun Owners (RMGO) group. Despite that alliance (or because of it), Saine often faces GOP opposition in a House District (which includes Greeley and Evans) that is a relatively safe seat for Republicans.

Democrats hold a slim majority in the State House, though HD-63 is unlikely to shift hands in 2016. This relatively late Primary challenge by Whitlow is nevertheless a drain on volunteers, fundraising, and resources for the GOP, which would much prefer to focus on trying to pick up a few seats in the State House while maintaining control of their one-seat majority in the State Senate.