If Cynthia Coffman is to become Colorado’s next governor, the current attorney general first must convince a small circle of Republican activists that she’s conservative enough to qualify for the GOP primary — let alone win it.

It won’t be an easy sell. To pull it off, Coffman is aligning herself with President Donald Trump and immigration hardliner Tom Tancredo to bolster her conservative bona fides even as she faces questions about her views on abortion and gay rights.

The strategy gets its first test March 6, when party die-hards huddle at neighborhood caucus meetings across the state. She’ll need their support at the Republican Party assembly in April, where she must get at least 30 percent of the 4,206 delegates to qualify for the June primary.

Coffman successfully used the same process in 2014 to make the ballot for attorney general, and this time she has the added advantage of being the only statewide elected Republican who is pursuing this path in the governor’s race.

But her moderate record on litmus-test social issues could diminish her support, particularly given that the assembly is dominated by party insiders with a history of supporting hardline conservatives.

How she fares will significantly influence the GOP race for governor and may send broader signals about the current mood of the Republican Party in Colorado.

One standout issue for Coffman is gay rights. In 2017, Coffman stood with Democrats on the Capitol steps and claimed she was the only Republican attorney general to take part in an LGBT PrideFest event.

She also called on legislators to outlaw so-called conversion therapies, and her office went to the U.S. Supreme Court to defend the state’s decision to punish a Lakewood baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple.

Alone, her views are not necessarily a deal-killer, as attitudes toward gay rights among Republicans have shifted considerably in recent years.

More problematic may be her stance on abortion.

Coffman tries to resist labels on the issue, and she described her position in an interview as “a Libertarian view that a woman should have a right to have an abortion that is legally guaranteed by the Supreme Court decision.”

One former Republican candidate for governor said Coffman’s positions on abortion and gay rights could make her a tough candidate in a general election race — but they may prevent her from getting the 30 percent needed to make the ballot.

“Those two things alone would sink anyone at an assembly (vote) — even to the no-name (candidates) that are there,” said former state Sen. Greg Brophy.

Mark Otteman, a longtime delegate from Flagler, said he hopes to be one of those assembly voters again. “There are some issues that she and I differ on, and I’m not sure if I will be able to support her,” he said, calling Coffman’s abortion views “something that’s always a concern for me.”

Coffman acknowledged the dynamic but remains confident in her decision just weeks ago to take the caucus route. “I think there are a lot of people I can appeal to; I did it before, and I believe I can do it again,” she said.

Coffman’s ballot path driven by money, or a lack of it

There is another way to qualify for the ballot. Coffman could petition her way into the primary by gathering 10,500 signatures from Republican voters — a more expensive but less risky option that her top opponent, GOP State Treasurer Walker Stapleton, is pursuing.

That route reduces the chance of a conservative-fueled upset at the April 14 assembly, where Coffman will face lesser-known candidates, including Larimer County Commissioner Lew Gaiter; former Trump campaign official Steve Barlock; and former Parker mayor Greg Lopez, who also was the state director for the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Any of them could have a breakout moment, if the 2016 election is any indication. That year, little-known El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn won a place on the primary ballot for U.S. Senate after a rousing speech in which he called himself an “unapologetic, Christian, constitutional conservative, pro-life, Second Amendment-loving American.”

Coffman is taking the assembly gamble for two reasons: Her fundraising so far has fallen short of the amount needed to do a petition drive; and the exit of Tancredo from the governor’s race has given her an opening — as the immigration hardliner and former congressman was the favorite going into the assembly.

Tancredo ended his bid in January, citing fundraising concerns, but the same worries apply to Coffman. She raised just $85,000 in her first two months as a candidate and has struggled to launch a campaign, while Stapleton set fundraising records with a $750,000 haul last quarter.

Dick Wadhams, a political strategist and former Republican Party chairman, last week spoke at a political forum at the University of Denver, where he lauded Coffman as “an outstanding candidate” but called her campaign “incompetent.”

“I have been bewildered by her inability to understand the difference between running for attorney general and running for something of the magnitude of governor of Colorado,” he said, comparing it to “going from single-A baseball to the major leagues.”

Steve Welchert, a Democratic strategist at the forum, said he wouldn’t be surprised to see her miss the ballot. “Frankly, from the Democratic perspective, she is the one candidate that would scare Democrats,” he said.

Coffman still lacks a campaign manager and only recently hired Allegiance Strategies as her consultant. The Republican outfit, based in Washington, D.C., does limited work for candidates, and the firm’s president serves as a senior adviser to a prominent pro-LGBT political action committee.

In an interview, she dismissed any concerns about her campaign. “I won the last time with the same campaign structure,” she said.

Coffman raised about $510,000 that year but benefited from about $2.9 million in support from the Republican Attorneys General Association, according to state records.

Even if social issues divide Coffman and the assembly delegates, she hopes to reach common ground by emphasizing the issue of immigration.

On the day Tancredo quit, she applauded his opposition to “unchecked and unaccountable sanctuary cities,” a term used by conservatives to describe municipalities that they contend are thwarting federal immigration authorities.

“People are concerned about sanctuary cities’ policies, and right now, when conversation turns to immigration, it’s about safety and security,” Coffman said. “And those are issues, as a law enforcement official, I deal with every day.”

Coffman also is talking more about Trump on the campaign trail. She touts the new tax law he championed as well as his focus on illegal immigration — although she said, “We don’t have the same style politically.”

The emphasis may help endear her to Republican voters. Recent surveys of Republican voters by Magellan Strategies, a Colorado-based polling and consulting firm, found that immigration was far and away their top priority. The polls also noted entrenched GOP support for Trump.

“I think folks are generally open-minded,” she said. Even if they don’t agree on abortion, she added, they say, “I can agree with you on the rule of law, on how to (deal with) transportation and immigration and growth, so I can vote for you, I can see you being the governor.”