Dear Colorado State Central Committee Voting Members,

Let me cut to the chase: I’m throwing my hat in the ring for Colorado GOP Vice Chair at the upcoming special meeting, following the sudden exit of D. Lee Phelan. This isn’t just a candidacy announcement, it’s a battle cry for every true grassroots conservative in Colorado who’s fed up with the RINO circus running our party into the ground. Buckle up, because I’m bringing the fight, and I’m asking for your vote to help me save the Colorado GOP from itself.

You know me. I’m the guy behind The Honey Badger Report, that no-holds-barred newsletter that calls out Republican betrayers who’d rather cozy up to donors than defend conservative principles. I’m the guy who, with my incredible wife Pam, built Parker Conservatives from a scrappy group of 34 patriots into a powerhouse with over 2,000 members, packing 100-220 folks into our monthly meetings without charging a dime. Why? Because informing, educating, and activating conservatives isn’t a side hustle, it’s our civic duty. I’m also the guy who launched We The People Network, a platform amplifying the brightest grassroots minds in Colorado and beyond, because the establishment doesn’t get to gatekeep conservative ideas.

I’ve been a Republican since I was 18, casting my first presidential vote for Ronald Reagan after his stellar run as California’s governor. I moved to Colorado in 1982 with Pam, a Colorado native, and for nearly 45 years, I’ve been in the restaurant trenches, starting as a cook, climbing to executive officer for a top-seven full-service restaurant corporation with 33,000 employees, and now serving as CEO of a smaller outfit running restaurants in Colorado and Alaska. I know budgets. I know business! I know BS when you hear or see it. And I know how to run an organization without letting it implode under fantasy finances or backroom deals. Spoiler alert: that’s exactly what’s missing from the current Colorado GOP under Brita’s lack of leadership.

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room, or rather, the RINO stampede. Under Chair Brita Horn and her establishment cronies, our party is a mess. Resignations are piling up faster than excuses: first the treasurer, now the vice chair. And then there’s the jaw-dropping $2.4 million budget for two years they rubber-stamped in that clown-show Zoom meeting last week with the Executive SCC members. Yes, million. That’s not a budget; it’s a wish list for consultants and a party pretending it’s got Elon Musk’s checkbook. Meanwhile, our conservative candidates will be left twisting in the wind, begging for scraps while we bankroll overhead and pork. If we’re going to preach fiscal responsibility in D.C., we’d better start practicing it at the Colorado GOP. Anything less is hypocrisy, and I’m done with it.

This is why I’m running. We need a vice chair who’s a counterbalance to the RINO establishment, a grassroots warrior who’ll bring transparency, fiscal discipline, and unapologetic conservative values back to the table. Someone who’ll stand up to the “go along to get along” crowd and their donor-driven double-dealing. Someone who’s not afraid to say the quiet parts out loud and fight like a honey badger to take our party back.

Here’s my platform, plain and simple:

Elect bold, unapologetic conservative Republicans to state and federal office, not squishy moderates who check their spines at the door.

Push to opt out of the open primary, because letting Unaffiliated and Democrats meddle in our primaries is about as smart as letting a fox guard the henhouse.

Get our fiscal house in order, because $2.4 million budgets with no accountability are how parties go bankrupt, morally and financially.

Inject real grassroots leadership into the Colorado GOP, amplifying the voices of the people who actually show up, not the insiders who show up to vote for a handout.

I’m not here to play nice with the establishment and RINOs. I’m here to call out the betrayers, shine a light on the backroom deals, and make sure the Colorado GOP works for you, the heart and soul of this party. Will I fix everything? Only the Good Lord knows. But I can promise you this: nothing’s getting swept under the rug on my watch. I’ll be the voice of transparency, the thorn in the side of the Establishment and RINOs, and the guy who fights for our conservative principles with every ounce of grit I’ve got.

So, to every State Central Committee member reading this: I’m asking for your vote. Not just for me, but for the movement we represent, the one that doesn’t bow to donor dollars or fold under pressure. The one that holds up liberty, fiscal sanity, and conservative values, no matter who’s in the room. Let’s take this opportunity to send a message that the grassroots will not be ignored.

Vote for Mark Hampton as Colorado GOP Vice Chair. Let’s make the establishment sweat.

God bless,

Mark Hampton

Candidate for Colorado GOP Vice Chair