After a vote on Saturday that ousted Dave Williams, chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, Williams challenged the vote on Monday, calling it “illegitimate.”

According to the Associated Press, Williams, who was at the helm of the party, was criticized for steering Republicans toward more extreme positions. In addition, Williams’ leadership style and public confrontations with Republicans who did not share his ultra-conservative vision exacerbated internal disagreements that led to a vote to remove him, AP reported.

On Saturday, Colorado Republicans defeated Williams by a vote of 161.66 to 12. According to CBS News, some voters’ votes counted only a fraction of a total vote because only members of the state party’s central committee and their representatives were allowed to cast their votes.

In a press release following Saturday’s vote, the Colorado Republican Party called the meeting a “farce” and said the majority of the more than 400-member committee were not present.

In addition, Williams condemned the meeting as “illegal” and “illegitimate” and told AP that at the upcoming meeting on August 31, they could only demand the firing of the officers.

“This fringe minority group knows they cannot impose their will in a fair session where the rules are fairly implemented,” Williams said in a text message to AP.

In an email to NewsweekWilliams went on to say that the meeting with “less than half of the entire membership” was “beyond absurd.”

“77 people from a fringe faction of the party cannot vote for over 400 members at a sham meeting. And to even suggest that less than half of the entire membership can come together without authorization and remove duly elected officials with less than the required three-fifths majority and then have even less than a quarter of the entire membership elect a new leader is beyond absurd,” Williams said.

According to AP, the dispute will now revolve around different interpretations of the party’s constitution, and the Republican National Committee may ultimately have to get involved.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has already indicated that it will recognize the outcome of the vote and the newly elected leadership, but Williams immediately rejected this move, saying that the NRCC “has no authority to do anything,” the AP reported.

Previously, the Colorado Republican Party faced fierce backlash after sending an email reading “God hates Pride” at the start of Pride Month in June, prompting some Republicans to suggest a change in leadership.

According to Denver-based news outlet Westword, the email signed by Williams referred to members of the LGBTQ+ community as “evil,” “woke creeps” and “ungodly groomers.”

Since the email was sent, some Republicans have spoken out against the Colorado Republican Party and the sending of the email.

Valdamar Archuleta, president of the Log Cabin Republicans of Colorado, which according to its website is “the original and largest organization in the country representing conservative LGBT members and their straight allies,” said the email would harm the Republican Party by isolating others with a divisive message.

“It alienates a large group of people within the party. Not just LGBT people, but our friends, our allies, our families. This was a huge mistake. We need to work to unite and grow the party, not isolate people with divisive messages like this,” Archuleta told Westword.

Archuleta continued to condemn the email, adding that a change in leadership was needed.

“This email was blatantly hateful. This cannot be tolerated in any way. We need new leadership, and we need to start looking for new leadership now,” Archuleta added.

In an earlier statement sent by email to NewsweekWilliams doubled down in the email: “We do not apologize,” while taking aim at the backlash, calling critics “radical Democrats” and “weak Republicans.”

“We make no apologies for saying God hates Pride or Pride flags, because that is an agenda that harms children and undermines parental authority. The only backlash we see comes from radical Democrats, the fake news media, and weak Republicans who bow at the feet of left-wing cancel culture,” Williams said.