September 20, 2022 03:58 PM UTC

GOP Sec. of State Candidate Won’t Disavow Endorsement of Jan. 6 Participant

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• by: Erik Maulbetsch

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Colorado Secretary of State hopeful Pam Anderson has made rejecting the Big Lie a central message of her campaign, but a new video shows her arm-in-arm with a major state GOP activist and fundraiser who’s not only pushed QAnon-linked election conspiracy theories, but also participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

As the Colorado Times Recorder reported last week, prominent Republican fundraiser Wendy Meritt tweeted about being at the Capitol on Jan. 6, claimed the violence was carried out by Antifa, and pushed multiple election fraud conspiracies.

Meritt, whose husband Xernie is U.S. Senate candidate Joe O’Dea’s longtime business partner, deleted her Twitter account following the publication of our article.

Anderson has previously campaigned with fellow GOP candidates who have denied the legitimacy of the 2020 election, including gubernatorial nominee Heidi Ganahl’s Lt. Gov. pick Danny Moore, and statehouse candidate Stephanie Wheeler.

Meritt, however, is the only one who has publicly posted about participating in the Jan. 6 insurrection or promoted the QAnon-linked “Italygate” conspiracy, which claims Italian military satellites remotely switched voted from the Trump to Biden.

The Colorado Times Recorder asked Anderson if she was aware of Meritt’s beliefs or participation in the Jan. 6 insurrection when they made the video, and if not, would she disavow Meritt’s endorsement

Anderson” offered the following response, which does not include a disavowal.

“I have not had a conversation with Ms. Meritt, a private citizen, about the details of her political views besides what you see-her congratulations and appreciation of my primary win against Tina Peters and Mike O’Donnell,” said Anderson. “I will continue to run on my strong message of uniting and informing Coloradans behind our election system, not further divide or ostracize people.“

Anderson’s refusal to disavow the endorsement of a conspiracist election denier seems at odds with a candidate who today promoted her appearance on the cover of Time Magazine as an “election defender.

Anderson also declined to answer the Colorado Times Recorder’s inquiry as to whether she would call on her fellow Republican candidates to return Ms. Meritt’s many thousands of dollars’ worth of campaign contributions. Meritt has given the maximum amount not only to the O’Dea campaign, but also to Ganahl and the campaigns of Lang Sias and John Kellner, Colorado Republicans running for state treasurer and Attorney General, respectively.