Republican Who Called For Pride Flags To Be Burned Loses GOP Primary Race In Colorado

Dave Williams — the chair of Colorado’s Republican Party, which sent out an emailearlier this month calling for Pride flags to be burned — has lostthe GOP primary election for the state’s 5th Congressional District.

Now Republican Jeff Crank will face off against Democrat Axel Brown, a former social worker, in November.

Williams, a former state legislator, faced numerous calls for resignation after he sent out a mass email to supporters earlier this month in which he described LGBTQ+ people as “godless groomers” and used other language falsely equating trans people with pedophiles. Williams also promised that the party would work hard to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth in the state.

The 5th Congressional District includes Colorado Springs, where five people were killed in a mass shooting at an LGBTQ+ nightclub in 2022.

Williams’ email drew sharp criticism — including from members of his own party, who feared that his remarks might hurt the chances of other Republicans to be elected.

“Dave Williams should resign… or be removed,” Valdamar Archuleta, a Colorado Republican running for Congress in another district, wrote in a social media postshortly after the email went out. Archuleta, who is also the head of the state’s chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans, a conservative gay organization, said Williams “doesn’t have effective communication skills.”

Two Republican state lawmakers told the Guardian that Williams’ comments were inappropriate. Nancy Pallozzi, the chair of the Jefferson County Republican Party, launched a petition to try to oust Williams this month before she was censured for overstepping her authority.

“He’s done so many destructive things in Colorado to not promote unity and [done]