February 11, 2025 12:58 PM UTC

Jeffco GOP Sure Knows How To Pick 'Em

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• by: Colorado Pols

In blue-trending Jefferson County, once considered a bellwether for the state’s evolution from red to blue and today reflecting the state’s overall Democratic dominance at the polls, the local Republican Party has not been what you’d call a competitive political organization, staffed by crackpots like the immediate former chairwoman of the JeffCo GOP Nancy Pallozzi whose sole claim to fame was a name similar to that of the former Democratic House Speaker. The biggest news for the JeffCo GOP in recent years was the abrupt cancellation of a fundraiser starring former South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem just days after her disclosure of having killed a literal puppy, which helped tank Noem’s veep aspirations but apparently made her a great candidate to lead the Department of Homeland Security.

But as 9NEWS’ Kyle Clark reported last night, the new leader of the Jefferson County Republicans has proposed…a different approach than his predecessor Nancy Pallozzi. You might call it more direct, and definitely more in keeping with the way Secretary Noem deals with her dog problems:

The newly-elected chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party is a convicted felon, who warned during the Biden administration that “it’s almost time to switch from ballots to bullets.”

Rich Wyatt replaces outgoing chairwoman Nancy Pallozzi, who did not seek another term.

Pallozzi became a target of far-right Republicans for leading a failed attempt to remove Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams after Williams called for the burning of all pride flags…

As one of the early leaders in the ultimately unsuccessful plot to oust Colorado Republican Party chairman Dave Williams, Pallozzi made herself persona non grata with the party’s MAGA wing, which led to her decision to not seek another term. The new chairman, however, is a much better fit for today’s radicalized Republican Party.

With one caveat: in 2018, several years before he endorsed the switch from “ballots to bullets,” Pallozzi’s successor Rich Wyatt pled guilty to felony firearms charges that in theory would make it more difficult for Wyatt to weaponize his politics. We haven’t tried to know for sure, but it makes sense that armed revolution can only get so far with a BB gun.

And perhaps most importantly, the side that threatened a civil war if they lost the election won the election. It will be at least a few years before this threat comes around again.