Republican candidates and El Paso County GOP volunteers say the county party’s leadership has taken steps to favor four far-right candidates ahead of Tuesday’s precinct caucuses.

While GOP rules prohibit party officers from taking sides in primaries, critics say county Republican Chairwoman Vickie Tonkins and her allies haven’t remained neutral even though they’re responsible for organizing the caucus and assembly nominating process that gives candidates a pathway onto the primary ballot.

Tonkins denies the charges and maintains that the nomination process is fair and open to all Republicans.

The candidates – Todd Watkins, who is running for El Paso County sheriff; Peter Lupia, a county clerk and recorder candidate; State Rep. Dave Williams, challenging Republican Congressman Doug Lamborn; and Ron Hanks, running to challenge Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo. – have appeared together at events other candidates running for the same offices have not been invited to attend. Tonkins appeared alongside them at some of those events. Lupia, Watkins and Williams are looking to the caucus and assembly process to make the primary ballot.

“It’s clear to me by the amount of events they are hosting who they are aligned with. … If you go to an event, it will be these four candidates all the time,” said Rebecca Keltie, one of four Republicans challenging eight-term Lamborn.

The slate of the candidates lean to the far right. Watkins promises to be a constitutional sheriff that will “stand in the gap” against federal overreach. Lupia says he will campaign at the state level for an end to mail-in voting. Williams aims to follow in the footsteps of U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Silt, known for her avid support of former President Donald Trump. Similarly, Hanks described himself as a pro-Trump warrior. 

In addition to events, endorsement fliers for the candidates are going out to all the precincts as part of caucus packets featuring organizations that do not have websites, Facebook pages or listings on the secretary of state’s website.

Residents who Keltie recruited to participate in the caucuses have also been turned away, she said.

“It’s very strategic. They are not just letting anyone become precinct leaders and delegates. … They are stacking the caucuses,” Keltie said. During the caucuses, residents begin the process of selecting delegates who then go on to place candidates on the primary ballot at the county, district and state assemblies. Candidates can also submit petitions to earn spots on the primary ballot. 

She said she believes in the caucus process but doesn’t think it will be run fairly this year.

“My complaint is with the GOP,” she said.

Tonkins disputed claims the party has turned away residents interested in participating in the caucus or that she has favored any candidates despite appearances at recent events featuring them. She appeared at those events despite a letter sent by the state GOP’s executive committee in January chastising her for giving the “improper” impression at a January party meeting that she supported some Republican legislators and opposed others.

On Friday Tonkins appeared as a moderator at a townhall in Peyton featuring just the four candidates that drew a crowd of about 40. Moderators typically run debates between opponents. In this case, the candidates answered questions submitted by the crowd. When asked if they believed the election was stolen, all said yes. Hanks described attending the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol as a badge of honor. 

The county party’s vice chairman, Karl Schneider, said he was alarmed at how brazenly Tonkins has been tilting the scales toward her preferred candidates.

Noting that GOP rules prohibit party officers from taking sides in primaries, Schneider said the Peyton forum Tonkins moderated was “100% incongruous with neutrality.”

“Had she had three different candidates for a state House district, three for the Senate, it would’ve been one thing,” he said. “But she had a clean slate, one for each office. It was absolutely incongruous with the role of a party chair.”

“We should be careful and should pay close attention to what happens at the local level,” added Schneider, who called on Tonkins to resign last fall amid a controversy over the county party’s involvement in school board elections. “When we continue to support leaders who do not follow the bylaws, we lose our integrity, we lose our republic, we lose ourselves.”

Tonkins told the crowd at the Peyton event, attended by a Gazette reporter, she would host similar town halls for other Republican candidates if she was asked and if she was available.

“This is for you to get to know the candidates better,” she said.

Tonkins was also a featured speaker earlier in February at a townhall hosted by FEC United, a conservative nonprofit group with a chapter in El Paso County, that featured Watkins, Hanks and Tina Peters, the Mesa County clerk who is running for secretary of state. Federal and state authorities are investigating Peters for a data security breach of the county’s election equipment. The event made headlines when a speaker called for the current secretary of state to be hanged over unproven election crimes, 9News reported.  

Joe Oltmann, a former tech CEO and Denver-area resident, has said he founded the group following his frustration with COVID-19 lockdown rules. The group’s acronym stands for faith, education and commerce. Oltmann has since gained fame for statements he made on his podcast, an endeavor separate from the nonprofit. 

Oltmann made statewide news in December when he talked about building gallows for treasonous politicians on his podcast. He also garnered attention Thursday for backing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine because he believes Ukraine has played a role in stealing elections around the world, repeating a piece of disinformation advanced by Russian interests. 

Tonkins has relied on FEC members to fill vacant party officer and precinct leader positions ahead of the upcoming caucuses.

At a live-streamed FEC United event at Fervent Church on Feb. 22, billed as an event to share the truth about the Republican establishment, Watkins, Lupia and Williams all spoke. Williams also solicited donations from the crowd. 

“We have the people’s sheriff,” Garrett Graupner said of Watkins. Graupner is Fervent Church’s pastor, who said multiple times he was not speaking as the pastor. He is also the faith pillar leader for the local chapter of FEC United. In an email he said FEC United has not endorsed candidates. 

Speakers at the event called other candidates running for some of the same offices, such as Lamborn, RINOs, a derisive acronym that stands for “Republican in Name Only,” or transrepublicans. 

“The theme tonight is RINO hunting,” Watkins said.

Oltmann also appeared at the Fervent Church event, where he encouraged the audience to get involved in campaigns. 

“I am telling you to get involved. … I am not asking anymore,” he said. 

A precinct leader, speaking on the condition of anonymity, wrote in an email he appreciated FEC’s work to get residents involved but he disagreed with the group’s influence within the local party and selective support of candidates, even though he agreed with most, but not all, of their endorsements. 

“My main consternation is how FEC has become a dominant influence within the (El Paso) GOP in their support of Vickie, whose leadership has been called into question. While they’ve helped to initially fill numerous precinct vacancies, I see that the EPGOP has lost its neutrality as it relates to not endorsing specific candidates. That should never happen per our state GOP bylaws,” the precinct leader wrote. “That significantly compromises one of the core commitments and responsibilities of our party leadership and as a result has become internally divisive.”

The lists of precinct leaders – routinely distributed by the local GOP in previous years – have also not been available to those who are not aligned with Tonkins but are helping run the caucuses, a party member said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the risk of retaliation. 

“I think the majority of the conservatives would not agree with the tactics,” the volunteer said. 

The two who spoke anonymously were among many who voiced concerns about the group to The Gazette but did not want to be quoted for fear of retaliation. 

Amid the ongoing internal strife, local party members have taken their concerns about Tonkins and some of her actions to the state party, seeking redress.

Last week, Keltie informed Colorado Republican Party Chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown the multiple fliers endorsing the same slate of Republican candidates who appeared at the Peyton forum were being distributed to every precinct caucus location by the county party.

In her email, which was obtained by The Gazette, Keltie said her campaign believes “GOP volunteers and resources were used in this effort giving preferential treatment to these certain preferred candidates,” including by making it more difficult for some candidates to submit material for the caucus packets.

“At what point does this biased, unethical behavior and actions from the El Paso County GOP office end?” Keltie wrote. “At what point does the state or national GOP get involved? This is the most corrupt, unethical behavior I have ever seen. Something must be done. We yell from the mountains about ‘election integrity,’ yet the election in El Paso County is the furthest from that.”

Added Keltie: “Please help. We have amazing candidates running for office down here and they all deserve a fair chance.”

Keltie said Monday she hadn’t received a response from the state party. After this story published, the state GOP issued a statement from Burton Brown via a spokesman.

“We believe that ALL Republican candidates should be treated equally by all party officers,” she said in a text message.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a comment from Colorado Republican Party Chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown.

Gazette reporters Ernest Luning and Breeanna Jent contributed to this report.