DENVER — Colorado Libertarians released the conditions of a deal they struck with state Republicans this summer that would keep Libertarian candidates out of competitive races where a right-leaning, third-party candidate could be a spoiler.
The state Libertarian party pledged not to nominate a candidate in races with a GOP candidate they approve of. This past weekend, they released a long list of thing Colorado Republicans must do to win that approval.
There are fewer than 40,000 registered Libertarians in Colorado, and they will be setting the agenda for more than 900,000 registered Republicans.
There are separate agreements for federal and state candidates.
The lists include an assortment of pledges ranging from auditing government spending to banning certain types of traffic surveillance.
For example, Libertarians would require Republicans running for federal office to oppose the military draft and further funding to Ukraine. The candidate must also to pledge to "abolish the department of education" and support pardons for whistleblowers Edward Snowden and Julian Assange.
On the state level, Republicans hoping to keep a Libertarian candidate out of their race would be expected to oppose mandatory vaccine programs and also the state income tax. They would also have to support "food freedom," which would include things like "raw milk and local meat processing."
Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams previously said the agreement he negotiated with Libertarian Party Chair Hannah Goodman will boost the chances of Republicans winning crucial 2024 legislative and congressional races.
This pact came on the heels of the competitive race in Colorado's Congressional District 8, where Democrat Yadira Caraveo narrowly beat out Republican Barbara Kirkmeyer. A Libertarian candidate in that race got nearly 4% of the vote, stirring up conspiracies on conservative talk radio that he'd swung the race.
The parties' agreement doesn't necessarily protect some of Colorado's most recognizable Republicans.
In June, Goodman told 9NEWS that Congresswoman Lauren Boebert might not fit the qualifications.
"Is Lauren Boebert a strong liberty candidate? That is to be determined. I don't necessarily think that Lauren Boebert... is a strong liberty candidate in my opinion," she said.
Boebert won by just 546 votes last year without a Libertarian in the race. Recently, a Libertarian registered to run against Boebert. He's a perennial candidate and cannabis activist.
9NEWS reached out to Williams to see if Republicans had any input on the new agreements but hasn't heard back.
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