The Brita Horn and Russ Andrews, "Thelma & Louise" Moment

Oh the horror…because polite euphemisms may not save us. The Colorado GOP, under the “leadership” of Brita Horn and her ever-present lap-dog, Russ Andrews, is rapidly approaching what could be the next self-inflicted catastrophe for the Colorado GOP so obvious and preventable that it feels scripted (it very well may be).

We are mere weeks from the very real possibility that the State Party could fail to hold a State Assembly, not because of an earthquake, not because of an earth-ending meteor strike, but because the current leadership may not have the funds on hand to book and hold our state assembly. Assemblies cost actual money. And not pocket change, between $125,000 and $250,000, according to former party officers with real experience running large-scale assemblies.

And what happens if the Assembly is not held?

Simple: The Colorado Republican Party forfeits its ability to designate statewide candidates to the primary ballot. This is not “opinion.” This is not “interpretation.”

This is a bylaw and law. The bylaws state: “Designation of candidates… shall be made by the appropriate designating assembly.”¹ No assembly = no designation. Full stop.

The January 15 Failure Point

The bylaws further require that the State Party issue the call for the State Assembly no later than January 15 of each even-numbered year, and that this call must include each county’s delegate count.²

This means, brace yourselves, the Party must:

• Have secured a venue

• Have the budget for the event

• Be able to pay for the event

• Calculate delegate allocations

• Notify all county chairs for their delegates

All by January 15.

Does anyone seriously believe that this leadership, which cannot fund basic operations, will somehow pull off a quarter-million-dollar assembly? The math is not mathing. But remember, people win the lotteries too.

And if the delegate allocation is not sent by January 15?

County parties cannot run compliant caucuses or assemblies.

The entire process starts with a slow collapse to the state-nominating process.

Legal Exposure: §1-1-113 Waiting to Happen

Every statewide candidate who planned to go through the Assembly will be effectively stripped of their statutory right to seek designation. To be clear, this is a textbook injury under Colorado Revised Statute §1-1-113, which allows candidates to file an immediate emergency action when a political party:

• Fails to perform a duty required by law

• Violates election code

• Or blocks ballot access through incompetence

And let’s be clear: Candidates will sue. They will win. And the courts will not be amused.

Why? Because the party is required to hold the assembly as part of the legally mandated designation process. There is no escape clause, no emergency bypass, and no secret plan hidden in the bylaws allowing leadership to say, “Oops, we’ll do it later.”

In fact, the bylaws explicitly refer to assemblies being held “within the period provided by state law.”³ Ignore that timeline, and you violate both the bylaws and state election law.

Is that the Fat Lady I hear singing in the distance?

Almost forgot this important nugget…

Did you see Brita Horn’s “trust me on insurance, we’ve got it” emails, the kind that always show up right before you learn you’re the one holding the bag.

Her memo says: “We have secured the insurance needed… Please standby for more instructions and information to get you set up with coverage.” Translation: Relax, peasants. The grown-ups have it handled. Don’t ask questions. Don’t look behind the curtain.

Except we can’t “stand by.” Not in 2026. Not after HB24-1067, where Colorado now explicitly requires the state, the Secretary of State, and each political party to ensure the caucus/assembly process remains an accessible ballot path for candidates with disabilities. That means more duties. More compliance. More ways to get sued. More opportunities for Democrats, activists, or opportunists to drop a lawsuit on county volunteers and party officers because something wasn’t “accessible enough.”

So no, a vague email saying “insurance is secured” is not “good news.” It’s a liability grenade with the pin still in. Now let’s talk about the insurance, because the memo gives us exactly zero of the information we need to protect ourselves. The Insurance “Coverage” That Isn’t a Coverage Plan Until We See the Paper. If Brita wants county chairs and volunteers to sleep at night, she needs to answer in writing the following:

1) Who is the actual insurance carrier? Not “we have insurance.” Not “we secured coverage.” Carrier name. Financial rating. Admitted vs non-admitted. If it’s a shaky surplus-lines carrier with exclusions wider than I-25, county chairs deserve to know.

2) What is the policy type: occurrence or claims-made? This matters. A lot.

• Occurrence covers incidents that happen during the policy period (even if sued later).

• Claims-made often only covers if the claim is filed while the policy is active — and can have ugly traps if the policy lapses.

3) What are the limits - per occurrence and aggregate? Brita needs to state:

• Per incident/per occurrence limit

• General aggregate

• Defense costs inside or outside the limit

• Because “$1M coverage” means nothing if defense costs burn it down before the first hearing.

4) What is the deductible / self-insured retention (SIR)? If there’s a $10,000 or $25,000 SIR per claim… who pays? The county? The county chair personally? Volunteers?

5) Who is the Named Insured? Is it:

• The COGOP only?

• Each county party?

• Each county central committee?

• Each caucus/assembly event committee?

If counties are not properly included, you’re basically uninsured with better paperwork.

6) Are county chairs, assembly chairs, volunteers covered as “insured persons”?

Brita’s memo says “operate… with protection,” but protection for who?

If the policy only covers the state party entity, county leaders could be left hanging.

7) Additional insured status: who needs it, and how is it issued? Venues often require additional insured endorsements. So do partners, landlords, sometimes even cities.

Brita needs to tell counties:

• Do we get Certificates of Insurance (COIs)?

• Do we get the actual endorsements?

• Who requests them?

• How fast?

• Who signs?

8) Does coverage include ADA/disability-access claims and “failure to accommodate” allegations?

With HB24-1067 emphasizing accessibility in caucus/assembly ballot access, this is not a theoretical issue. We need confirmation whether the policy covers:

• Accessibility disputes

• Discrimination allegations

• Injunctive relief defense (often excluded)

• Attorneys’ fees exposure (often huge)

9) What are the exclusions?

This is where insurers bury the bodies. We need to see exclusions for:

• “Intentional acts” (broadly defined)

• Employment practices (if volunteers are treated as “workers”)

• Contractual liability (venue contracts can trigger this)

10) Does it include Directors & Officers (D&O) coverage? If party officers make decisions that lead to lawsuits (credentialing fights, access disputes, ballot access, etc.), D&O is usually the policy line that matters.

11) What is the claims reporting process? Who reports a claim? How quickly? To whom? If counties don’t follow reporting requirements, insurers deny claims.

What County Chairs Should Demand Immediately Not later. Not “stand by.” Immediately:

1. Full policy declarations page

2. Coverage summary written in plain English

3. Endorsements list

4. Certificate of Insurance process (request form + turnaround time)

5. Written confirmation that counties + county officers + volunteers are insureds

6. Written confirmation on accessibility-related claims given the HB24-1067 environment

One More Problem Brita Isn’t Mentioning: Timing and Deadlines

Bottom Line

Brita’s memo is not a plan. It’s a press release. If she wants county chairs and volunteers to take on the legal risk of running caucuses and assemblies under a state that’s increasingly eager to regulate and litigate political participation, she needs to stop sending Hallmark thank-you notes and start sending actual insurance facts.

Because if a lawsuit hits and it will (in my opinion), nobody is going to accept “we were told to stand by” as a defense.

FOOTNOTES — BYLAW SOURCES FROM (Amended-COGOP-Bylaws_August and Sept 2023)

1. Designation must be performed by Assembly

Article XIV, Section B.1:

“Designation of candidates… shall be made by the appropriate designating assembly.”

(page 16)

2. Delegate counts must be provided by January 15

Article XIII, Section D.3:

“The call for the State Assembly and/or Convention shall be issued by the CRC Chairman no later than the fifteenth day of January of each even-numbered year… The call shall notify the county chairmen… of the number of delegates apportioned or allocated to each county.”

(page 16)

3. Assemblies must be held within state-law timelines

Article XIII, Section D.34–36:

“All other assemblies shall be held within the period as provided by state law…”

(page 15)