Unite to Win: A Strategy for All Republicans

By Erik Aadland

I am running for Colorado GOP Chairman with the singular focus of getting Republicans elected in Colorado.  To win elections, we must do the following, which will be my priorities as Chairman:

  1. Chase and harvest ballots.  To compete with Democrats, we must build an enterprise to chase and harvest ballots.  We will make this a major focus of the Colorado GOP going forward, partnering in this effort with other states, the RNC and private organizations working towards this end. 
  • Close the primary.   Accomplish this through a lawsuit.  See my argument for closing the primary in my Campfire Colorado article (February 1, 2023).  Though according to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the official party cannot fund this internally, I will champion this as Chairman and use my considerable fundraising skills to assist others with raising the money.  Additionally, I will leverage my extensive network to help orchestrate the necessary private parties toward accomplishing this end.       
  • Make the caucuses great again.  The State GOP organization must assist counties with running their caucuses efficiently and successfully, by providing the necessary resources (time, money, and people), training and guidance.  I will partner with county party leaders to help them be successful.  We must: 
    • Attract participation to the caucuses.  
    • Educate Republicans on the purpose, value, and importance of the caucus system. 
    • Train county leaders, district captains, precinct committee people and volunteers on how to execute a well-run caucus.  
    • Fund the caucus process in every county.  
  • Unify the party.  We must come together against a common foe: a radical Left propagating and legislating socialism, which is destroying freedom, opportunity, and our future.   We will work together to develop a vision that most freedom-loving and opportunity-desiring Coloradans can rally behind.
  • Register more Republicans.  We must grow our ranks through active voter registration programs, especially engaging young conservative-minded people.  
  • Inspire voters to turn out and vote Republican.  We must restore trust with our constituents by demonstrating our care, concern, and solutions to the issues most concerning to Coloradans, without compromising our values.  We will accomplish this with effective messaging, combined with an extensive outreach program, especially to Hispanic voters, and a significant marketing program to unaffiliated voters.
  • Restore trust in our elections.  We must restore trust in our elections so people vote with confidence knowing their ballot will be counted, and no fraudulent votes will be accepted.  I will address this with actions, not words, championing ballot initiatives to: a) strengthen voter ID laws; b) clean the voter rolls; c) ensure a trustworthy audit process; and d) replace current voting machines with trustworthy systems.  Furthermore, we will increase Republican presence at the ballot boxes and polling stations by training an army of volunteers to be poll watchers and adjudicators.     

To win elections, we must also do the fundamentals well:

  1. Raise money.  We must raise significant funds to train and resource candidates, to facilitate our party processes such as the caucuses and state assemblies, to advertise to voters, to increase voter registration and to develop the data required to understand the constituency.  I have proven my fundraising ability by raising $1.4 million in my recent congressional race, with thousands of small dollar contributions.  I will continue this track record as Chairman, putting it towards getting Republicans elected.
  • Train candidates.  I will personally assist candidates by instructing them in how to develop a campaign strategy, build a campaign team, fundraise and how to execute a campaign tailored to their specific race.  In my run for Congress, I built a campaign team of ten professional staff members, forty area coordinators and two hundred volunteers.  I gained national prominence when I was selected to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Young Guns program, as well as receiving endorsements from five members of President Trump’s cabinet, two-former governors, fourteen current or former members of Congress, a host of statewide elected officials, and numerous prominent businesspeople and media personalities, as well as several pro-conservative and veteran organizations.  I will help candidates replicate this model.
  • Increase the fidelity of our voter data.  In my campaign for Congress, it became clear to me that I was fighting a war blindly, attempting to court independent voters without fully understanding their priorities, as well as not having a clear idea of who are the persuadable independents.  Thus, we spent enormous resources (money, volunteer hours, etc.) campaigning to an audience we did not understand.  As a party, we must build out our dataset to a much higher fidelity so we can target voters more effectively.  I will judiciously use State GOP resources to build this dataset, then arm candidates with the information so they can engage voters meaningfully and efficiently.  

As Chairman, this is how I will move us forward toward the goal of winning elections, executing a long-term strategy to revitalize the Republican Party of Colorado.  Together, we will rebuild our political infrastructure in a way that best serves candidates, giving them the greatest chance of winning.   We will also restore trust within our party, reducing internal discord and divisiveness, while inspiring Coloradans to vote Republican again.  I hope you will join me in this noble effort and help build a brighter future together!     

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About the Author:

Erik Aadland is running to be the next Chairman of the Colorado Republican Party.