The man who sought to build bridges within Colorado’s Republican Party is calling it quits. Party Vice Chair Richard Holtorf notified GOP officials last week that he will step down from the party position at the end of the month, citing his inability to work with state chair Brita Horn. Holt orf, a third-generation cattle rancher, former state lawmaker and congressional candidate, is the second state GOP vice chair to resign in the past year, following last summer’s departure of Darrel Phelan, a former Las Animas County GOP chair, who also blamed frustration with Horn for his decision. “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,” Holtorf said in an email to state Republicans, adding that “most of 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 of Vice Chair,” Holtorf concluded after noting that the “primary reason” for his resignation is to run for Washington County commissioner. Holtorf was elected to replace Phelan in the party’s No. 2 position in July after calling on fellow Republicans to “(build) bridges between our divided factions” and to “focus on our candidates, not our bickering and infighting.” State central committee members elected Phelan last spring at the party’s biennial reorganization meeting as part of a slate of officer candidates that included Horn, a former Routt County treasurer, and former congressional candidate Russ Andrews, who won election as party secretary. Horn didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A party spokesman said in a text message that the vacancy created by Holtorf’s resignation will be filled at an upcoming state central committee meeting. Colorado Republican Party Chairman Brita Horn addresses the state GOP central committee meeting on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Aurora. (Ernest Luning/Colorado Politics) Holtorf told Colorado Politics that his increasing frustration with Horn prompted his decision to resign. “We have found ourselves to be quite dysfunctional,” he said. “I’m having no net effect in the state party right now. I’ve been completely boxed out.” Holtorf said Horn’s insistence on pursuing lawsuits targeting former party officials is undermining the state GOP’s fundraising ability. “We can’t raise money,” he said. “The primary reason is because of all the lawfare that has been going on since last summer, in a revolving door of legal action.” The party is involved in multiple ongoing lawsuits stemming from a months-long, unsuccessful attempt in 2024 to force the removal of Horn’s predecessor as state party chair, former state Rep. Dave Williams. According to a recent campaign finance report, the Colorado Republican Party’s federal committee raised just under $100,000 in individual contributions in the last six months of 2025 and finished the year with just over $75,000 on hand. The report says the state party owes more than $140,000 to attorney Richard Klenda, who represented Horn before she was elected as state GOP chair last spring. The party also took out a $25,000 line of credit, with an outstanding balance of nearly $15,000, according to the filings. While the two parties were on different filing schedules last year, making a strict apples-to-apples comparison more difficult, the Colorado Democratic Party’s federal committee reported nearly $575,000 in individual contributions last year and finished the period with almost $180,000 in the bank. “Nobody wants to give money to the state party when it’s just going to be passed to a lawyer,” Holtorf said, adding that he and other party officials have repeatedly urged Horn to wrap up the legal actions. “It’s a testament to her leadership and decision making, not taking advice from other leaders around her and (just) listening to that lawyer,” Holtorf said. Andrews, the state party secretary, told Colorado Politics that he shares Holtorf’s frustration with Horn but intends to stay in his position at least through early April, when the Colorado GOP is scheduled to hold its state assembly in Pueblo. “Brita is very difficult to work with,” Andrews said in a phone interview, adding that he hasn’t spoken with Horn in “over a month.” “She’s a horrible fundraiser, and she doesn’t seek the counsel of anyone but her lawyer. It’s been a very, very difficult environment,” he said. “I want to make it through the assembly. After the assembly, my job duties fell off dramatically.” Andrews said he wanted to stress that the state party’s executive director, Alec Horn, is doing a “fantastic” job. “But Brita Horn, she isn’t in over her head, she’s in the Mariannas Trench,” he said. ...read more read less