Colorado Delegates Opt Not To Disrupt RNC But Still Get Booed
CLEVELAND (CBS4) - Delegates voted to officially make Donald Trump the Republican nominee for president on Tuesday and a lot of attention was on the delegation from Colorado.
The Colorado delegation was booed when it was their turn to announce their votes. Over the last couple of days the Colorado delegation has become the national symbol of the anti-Trump movement.
The bad blood between Colorado Republicans and Trump supporters runs deep and it could impact Colorado's swing state status this election year.
Colorado delegates on Tuesday led a rebellion on the convention floor and threatened to play as obstructionists during the official nomination. The delegation decided against the disruption but was still booed by other delegations.
"Among the base of the party there's something that's really shifted, and how that's going to play out, I don't know," said Regina Thomson, Free the Delegates Executive Director.
"I think the Republican Party might be going through some growing pains," said Kimberly Jajack, an alternate Colorado delegate and unlikely Trump defender.
Jajack insists the party's big tent has room for lots of different views and she says anti-Trump delegates are just sore losers.
"It's not a healthy way for us to move forward, but do I think we will move forward? Absolutely," Jajack said.
CBS4 Political Analyst Dick Wadhams says Trump could take a pass on Colorado and target traditional Democratic strongholds, once again altering the playing field this election.
"Colorado swing voters are actually younger voters, they're suburban women, they're Hispanics; and if Donald Trump finds himself unable to appeal to those voters, he might have to walk away from Colorado," Wadhams said.
But CBS4 Political Specialist Shaun Boyd believes Trump won't be conceding Colorado to Hillary Clinton. She believes Colorado is still up for grabs because Democrats in the state overwhelmingly supported Bernie Sanders and are also having a tough time warming up to their presumptive nominee.
But Boyd says the difference is Clinton is aggressively courting Colorado voters with ads and campaigning in Colorado. Trump hasn't bought a single ad and has only come to Colorado once during his campaign recently.
"It will be telling in the next couple of weeks if things will change," Boyd said.
