‘This party should fall’: MAGA candidate who didn’t win Boebert’s old seat calls Republican Party ‘irredeemable’

MAGA candidate Ron Hanks stood at the head of a table of supporters wearing red shirts emblazoned with his name Tuesday night at a Grand Junction brewery, thanking them for their efforts – after his more moderate “establishment” opponent was named the victor in Colorado’s third congressional district Republican primary.

“I don’t take anything that happens personally. But what I do see is the Republican Party has basically made itself irredeemable,” Hanks told The Independent shortly after his loss was confirmed.

Hanks, a hardline Trump-style conservative who repeatedly called attention during his campaign to his attendance at Jan. 6, came in second, beaten by attorney Jeff Hurd, a father of five who’s never before run for office. They were fighting to replace embattled incumbent Rep. Lauren Boebert, who emerged victorious in her campaign across the state Tuesday night after abandoning CD3 in the wake of a string of controversies.

Hanks had railed against Hurd as an “empty suit” supported by the “establishment” Colorado Republican old guard; the split between that faction and grassroots MAGA stalwarts is indicative of the nationwide GOP schism.

“This party should fall,” Hanks toldThe Independent. “This party should collapse. We are so infiltrated with people that have impure motives that we can’t trust people in our own party. It’s like having the enemy wearing our uniform in war.”

The Hanks volunteers and supporters gathered in an event room at Kannah Creek Brewing Company as the race drew to a close, watching returns on smart phones and a tablet as game shows and sitcoms played in the background on a large television mounted on the wall. Italian specialties, fried apple pie and local brews were on the menu; distrust of