Where the Colorado GOP goes after rough election night

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)-- Results released Monday by the Colorado Secretary of State's office show that Republicans in the state struck out big time with unaffiliated voters in the 2022 November election.

None of the four statewide races were within eight percentage points. But it was not because Republicans didn't show up at the polls. In fact, they did, and at a higher rate than democrats, but still lost handily.

According to new numbers released by the secretary of state's office, 24.66% of the active voters in the election were registered, as Republicans. 27.89% were Democrats. 

Unaffiliated voters accounted for more than 45% of the vote.

"The problem for republicans, though, is that most unaffiliated voters are actually closet partisans," UCCS political science professor Josh Dunn said. "Republicans don't know exactly where they should go as a party. You know, obviously among the rank and file Republicans -- and some of the primary voters, there's really strong support for (Former President Donald) Trump still."

Dunn pointed out that Trump and Trump-aligned candidates have generally not faired well in Colorado.

But Dunn says getting out of the situation the party is in right now, is not as simple as far right versus moderate.

"O'Dea tried to run in the moderate lane and then Ganahl tried to run in the more MAGA lane. And neither of them were at all successful, and it didn't seem to make much of a difference for either one of them."

Colorado GOP chair Kristi Burton Brown agrees that it was the undecided voters they failed to win over. But she has a theory on why different types of GOP candidates all met a similar fate. 

Brown issued a statement to KRDO, saying, "Unfortunately, Democrats spent millions on TV ads in Colorado claiming that all Republicans were extremists. This was provably false, but it’s what voters heard and what they cast their votes on. Going forward, the Republican Party must continue to stay focused on the issues - cutting taxes, prioritizing public safety, defending the rights of all people, and creating better options in education. We will continue to be a positive, pro-active party, focused on the issues that working families face every day.”

Meanwhile, the internal battle over the GOP's platform may not be going anywhere.

Trump has planned a special announcement Tuesday, where many expect him to declare another run for the White House.