James Wiley, a former Libertarian National Committee member who left the party last year to run as a Republican, has advanced through the Colorado GOP’s state assembly and will be the only candidate on the party’s primary ballot for Secretary of State.
The Colorado Republican Party held its State Assembly on April 11 at Colorado State University Pueblo, where candidates were required to secure at least 30% of delegate support to qualify for the primary ballot. Wiley was the only candidate to meet that threshold, defeating three other Republicans.
In remarks on social media following the convention, Wiley said he received 70.55% of the delegate vote. No other Republican candidate advanced through the assembly or pursued ballot access through the petition process, leaving Wiley as the only candidate on the Republican primary ballot and effectively guaranteeing him the party’s nomination.
Speaking to delegates after the vote, Wiley called for unity among Republicans and said he would continue to prioritize holding state Democrats and Secretary of State Jena Griswold accountable, arguing that her office has shown a pattern of mismanagement and overreach dating back to the 2020 election cycle.
Wiley announced his Republican bid in December after leaving the Libertarian Party, where he had served as Region 1 alternate on the Libertarian National Committee and previously as executive director of the Libertarian Party of Colorado.
In a letter at the time, Wiley said he was stepping away from both the party and his alternate role to pursue what he viewed as a more effective path to advancing election-related reforms. He said the decision was not a rejection of libertarian principles, but a pragmatic response to the limits of third party organizing on a statewide level.
“As we stand on the brink of irreversible tyranny from vulnerable electronic voting machines, I lack the time to nurture a third party into a viable vehicle to achieve human liberty,” Wiley wrote at the time. “The Libertarian Party, though purpose-built for liberty, operates on the margins and struggles to gain the traction needed for swift, statewide impact.”
Wiley argued that working within the Republican Party would provide a more viable avenue for advancing election-related reforms, including his opposition to electronic voting machines, efforts to decertify “compromised” voting machines, and calls to free former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, whom he called a whistleblower.
Wiley is expected to face the winner of the Democratic primary, where two candidates advanced from their party’s state assembly in late March.
He will also face competition from his former party, as the Libertarian Party of Colorado is fielding two candidates for Secretary of State, setting up its first primary since 2020. An unaffiliated candidate and a member of the Colorado Forward Party are also seeking the position.
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