February 04, 2026 04:56 PM UTC

Former State Rep. Holtorf Is Second CO GOP Vice Chair to Quit in 8 Months – Both Blamed Chair Horn

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• by: Erik Maulbetsch

(Going super! — Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Originally posted at the Colorado Times Recorder

Richard Holtorf resigned his role as vice chair of the Colorado Republican Party yesterday. Despite holding the position for fewer than six months, his tenure lasted more than double that of his predecessor, Darrel Phelan, who quit after just 72 days. In addition to the relative brevity of their service, the two men shared similar reasons for their departures: frustration with party Chair Brita Horn.

In a letter to the Republican State Central Committee (SCC), Holtorf, a former state representative from Holyoke, cited both his plan to run for a county commissioner seat, as well as his inability to work with Horn.

It is with deep regret that I submit my resignation as your State COGOP Vice Chair. I will serve out the rest of this month and step down effective February 28, 2026.

The primary reason for my departure is driven by my decision to run for Washington County Commissioner, District 1. I feel in this capacity, I can better use my political experience to serve the Republican Party. I can have a real impact on public policy in my community here at home.

In July 2025, when I was elected as Vice Chair, I felt that my lifelong military and political leadership experience and strategic vision would help change the trajectory of a divided COGOP. The goal was to build a winning Republican team in 2026. Regrettably, I have experienced something very different working with the top leadership in the COGOP of over the last 7 months.

As to the matters of the state Republican party, I have attempted to work with and advise the Chair on matters of critical political importance. Spending thousands of volunteer hours on phone calls, emails, text streams, and traveling to and from meetings attempting to lead, communicate and rebuild our fractured party. I worked with countless Republicans attempting to communicate and mediate, in good faith, between all parties across the state.

I demanded an end to lawfare in the COGOP as the first step in this journey of healing our party. Unfortunately, most all of my efforts have been to no avail.

Regrettably, as with my predecessor, I have found it impossible to work with the Chair in the capacity as Vice Chair.

Chairwoman Horn responded to Holtorf’s letter with her own lengthy missive to the SCC, titled “Update in Leadership,” in which she claimed Holtorf yelled at other members of the executive team and refused to submit a written plan for the outreach work he promised to lead.

“I didn’t want this to be the outcome, nor did I want to burden this Committee with more drama,” wrote Horn. “There is much to be done and sadly, the Vice Chair has been absent in our efforts. This has been a very difficult situation for the party. It became clear collaboration wouldn’t be possible when Leadership Team phone calls and Zoom meetings resulted in the Vice Chair shouting and hurling insults at others, yet we still attempted until mid December. (See more below)

“When asked to submit a strategic plan for 2026 in writing for the committees he was committed to overseeing, originally his idea, the Vice Chair refused outside of a verbal report.”

She then included a long email exchange between Holtorf and herself, that if nothing else, clearly showed an unproductive working relationship.

 

Reached by phone, Holtorf confirmed his resignation, though he said he told Horn he’d be available through the end of this month for any transition needs or questions.

“I’ve given her till the end of the month to tie up any loose ends and close out my tenure,” Holtorf said. “Anybody needs some information from me or needs to talk to me and do whatever — I’ve got that open. After that, not my problem.”

Asked to expand upon the “lawfare” he referenced in his letter, Holtorf said it “needs to stop. The lawyers need to quit telling us what to do and how to do it. We need to run our party as a unified team, and that wasn’t happening.”

Holtorf was elected last July in a nearly three-hour virtual meeting culminating in an election that multiple participants claimed was invalid due to various technical and parliamentary complaints. Ultimately, the meeting began almost two hours late. Horn struggled to get through even the pro forma votes of accepting the credentialing report and the meeting rules, as members kept listing problems they had getting credentialed or getting called on to speak, with many asking for the meeting to be canceled or postponed until it could be held in person. Horn repeatedly deferred to parliamentarian Gregory Carlson to settle disputes raised by unhappy members.

Horn concluded yesterday’s announcement of Holtorf’s resignation by stating that the party would “hold a Special Central Committee meeting to fill the vacancy of the Vice Chair.”

Horn did not immediately respond to a request for comment as to if and when the meeting replace Holtorf will be held and whether it will be in-person or, like the previous one, strictly online. She did post a Facebook reel of a man saying “remember this: when they cannot control you anymore they will try to manipulate and control the narrative. They will try to make other people view you in a different way, because they cannot control you anymore.”