Over 150 Attend Yuma County Republican Assembly and Lincoln Day Dinner

More than 150 Yuma County Republicans gathered at The Estate at The 99 south of Yuma on Sunday evening and left with a defined county primary slate, nine delegates bound for the state party assembly in Pueblo, and the first direct look at a competitive sheriff's race pitting Larry Gilliland against Matthew Hardesty on the June 30 ballot.

The event opened with a formal county assembly at 4 p.m., where delegates voted on candidate access and delegate selection, before transitioning to the Lincoln Day Dinner at 6 p.m., which drew state and federal candidates who addressed the crowd. Of the 62 county delegates participating in the assembly, nine earned selection to advance to the Colorado Republican State Assembly in Pueblo on April 11: David Schaffner, Kristen Schaffner, Reese Shay, Amanda Shay, Kevin Mathias, Matthew Hardesty, Lola Mathias, Chad Day, and Peggy Brophy.

Every Republican seeking a Yuma County seat cleared the delegate threshold to reach the primary ballot. Kaci Scholes advances in the assessor's race, Chrystal Hammond in county treasurer, Javan Jones in county coroner, and Cliff Leonhardt in the Commissioner District 1 contest. Two offices produced competitive fields: the sheriff's race between Gilliland and Hardesty, and the clerk's race, where Haleigh Studer and Sara Vance both qualified.

Hardesty's appearance on both lists, as one of nine delegates heading to Pueblo and as a challenger in the sheriff's race, illustrated the layered stakes at county assemblies, where organizational wins on the delegate floor can signal broader campaign momentum. The sheriff's office, which oversees law enforcement across Yuma County's rural roads and communities, typically drives some of the highest voter engagement in contested county primaries.

The 150-plus attendance at a party assembly months before the primary underscores the depth of the county's grassroots organizing base heading into an election year. The State Assembly in Pueblo on April 11 is the next milestone for Yuma County's nine elected delegates; the primary follows on June 30.