Mesa County Trump campaign Chair Kevin McCarney has joined the fray of those vying to lead Colorado’s Republican Party – lending the race for state party chair a West Slope voice and what McCarney says is the only real plan to boost party prospects.

With an eye toward two rivals already in the field for weeks – and the April 1 election for state party leadership fast approaching – McCarney says what prompted him to jump in was what he felt was missing: a specific agenda for getting the state party back at the top of its game. His plan for doing just that, he said today, is on his website.

“My Red Colorado Project spells it out,” he said. Among his plan’s key components, as noted on the webpage, is building “a program to reach the Everyday Republican who wants to donate their funds.”

“The reality is we are missing an enormous potential asset by not asking One Million plus registered voters to put some skin the game,” his webpage elaborates. “The potential return is in the millions of dollars.”

His plan also calls for, “key offices in Pueblo, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs and Grand Junction, with a goal of establishing other key offices in Alamosa, Boulder, Aspen, Durango, Steamboat Springs, and Limon.”

The other two declared candidates for state GOP chair are George Athanasopoulos, who ran unsuccessfully for the 7th Congressional District seat of Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter last fall, and Jeff Hays, the outgoing chair of the El Paso County Republican Party.

Current state GOP chair Steve House is not seeking another term.

In addition having led Mesa County’s effort for the Trump campaign last fall, McCarney, an insurance agent and a resident of Clifton in the Grand Junction area, is chairman of Freedom! Colorado and is a former executive board member of the Mesa County Republicans.

McCarney says too often, his region of the state is overlooked in statewide Republican politics.

“We’re kind of the forgotten stepchild over here,” he said.

Also often overlooked, he said, is the rank-and-file Republican voter.

“I’d describe myself as the everyday Republican,” he said. “My message is to the base. We never really talk to the base in this state.”

In a prepared statement touting his candidacy, McCarney says:

“…I am the forgotten man who actually worked to get Donald Trump elected…’We need to build on Trumps momentum, be a place for conservatives to come home to and implement a real plan. That is the key for success in Colorado.”