May 29, 2026 08:50 AM UTC

Right-Wing Candidate for GOP Chair Claims To Be Member of ‘Founders Club’ of Conservative Education Group

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• by: Sean Beedle

(Hiding the gallows behind the kids — Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Originally posted at the Colorado Times Recorder

Joe Oltmann, the Douglas County podcaster running for Colorado GOP chair, is touting his ties to ACE Scholarships on his campaign website. Oltmann’s page notes that he is a “member of the Founders Club of ACE Scholarships, which provides opportunities for disadvantaged children to access private education.”

ACE is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that privately funds scholarships, manages state tax credit programs, and advocates for school choice policies. Among its founders is Wal-Mart heir John Walton. In 2020, ACE took part in Espinoza v. Montana, a U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled that a state-based scholarship program that provides public funds to allow students to attend private schools cannot discriminate against religious schools. ACE has worked with families, lawmakers, and partners to expand “educational freedom” — helping advance ESAs (Education Savings Accounts) in Louisiana and Texas.

The National Education Association, the largest labor union and professional association in the United States, representing over 3 million teachers and support staff, has long opposed ESAs and voucher programs. “ESAs are the latest trend in publicly subsidized private school education,” the NEA notes on its website. “These programs pay parents a large portion of the money the state would otherwise have spent to educate their children in exchange for an agreement to forego their right to a public education. Consistent with all voucher programs, they divert taxpayer funds to subsidize private choices and undermine principles of equity and accountability, all while doing nothing to improve the quality of education.”

ACE’s Colorado Board of Trustees includes former Republican Gov. Bill Owens. During a March 7 appearance on the Peter Boyles show, Oltmann said, “I got in an argument with Bill Owens in 2022.”

Oltmann then went on to claim in that same interview that he was twice invited to the secretive Bohemian Grove, the retreat for the ultra-wealthy that has spawned countless conspiracy theories. Oltmann is currently a defendant in a defamation suit and has a long history of making outlandish claims — like in 2021, during COVID pandemic, when he claimed he was attacked with anthrax. Oltmann, who initially ran for Colorado governor but withdrew his candidacy to run for chair of the Colorado Republican Party, has also made claims that a Jewish “Synagogue of Satan” is running Colorado politics.

“Our society is run by this cartel,” Oltmann said on a Jan. 2 podcast episode. “They represent a little over what, 2% of our population, and they run 100% of the positions of power and of trust.”

On a March 17 episode of his podcast, Oltmann, who’s a well-known election conspiracist, told his audience that elected officials in Colorado who are Jewish are “terrible people that have lied and stolen from you.”

Oltmann’s repeated claims have drawn the ire of the Anti-Defamation League and other Jewish groups, who have urged Colorado Republicans not to elect him as GOP Chair. “Consistent with the Republican Party’s platform, we ask that you condemn Mr. Oltmann’s rhetoric,” read a Jan. 29 letter to former GOP Chair Brita Horn, Sen. Cleave Simpson (R-Alamosa), and Rep. Jarvis Caldwell (R-Monument). “We call upon you to reject his candidacy for state party chair. His election would send a deeply troubling signal to Colorado’s Jewish community about where the party stands at a moment when clarity and moral leadership are urgently needed.”

When asked about Oltmann’s connections to ACE Scholarships, a spokesperson responded via text message, “We do not disclose or discuss our donors.”

RELATED: Joe Oltmann’s Rise to Power in Colorado