The Colorado Republican Party plans to pursue criminal charges against whoever is producing fliers that claim the GOP has endorsed one of the two primary candidates running for the state’s U.S. Senate seat.

While the organization that is paying for the fliers is unknown – they don’t include the standard “paid for by” disclaimer – there’s a good chance that Democratic interests are funding a flurry of mailings purporting to compare the policy positions and political backgrounds of Republican U.S. Senate hopefuls Joe O’Dea, a construction company owner, and state Rep. Ron Hanks.

That’s because the mailers – including at least one labelled “U.S. Senate voter guide” – are reaching voters at the same time Democratic-aligned committees are flooding state airwaves with ads describing Hanks as “too conservative for Colorado” in what Republicans are calling a transparent attempt to steer the party’s primary voters to nominate a candidate who could be easier to beat in the fall.

O’Dea and Hanks are facing off in the June 28 primary for the chance to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, who is seeking a third full term.

Similar TV ads funded by Democratic groups are aimed at Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Lopez and congressional candidate Lori Saine.

Lopez and University of Colorado Regent Heidi Ganahl are vying for the nomination to take on Democratic Gov. Jared Polis. Saine is one of four Republicans seeking the nomination in Colorado’s new 8th Congressional District, where state Rep. Yadira Caraveo is the presumptive Democratic nominee.

In addition to comparing O’Dea and Hanks on the issues, a series of mailers reviewed by Colorado Politics inaccurately state that Hanks has been “endorsed by the Colorado Republican Party” – an assertion state GOP chair Kristi Burton Brown said on Tuesday violates a state law against making false claims in campaign material.

Hanks was the only Republican U.S. Senate candidate to emerge from a crowded field of contenders at the state Republican assembly in April, but the party doesn’t make endorsements before the primary election.

O’Dea, a first-time candidate who has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into his campaign, petitioned his way onto the ballot.

One of the mailers notes that O’Dea supported the massive, bipartisan infrastructure bill passed by Congress last year, and Hanks opposed it. Another points to past campaign contributions made by O’Dea to Colorado Democrats, including Bennet and the state’s junior senator, former Gov. John Hickenlooper.

Calling the mailers “criminal, false and malicious,” Burton Brown said in a statement that, by meddling in GOP primaries, Democrats are demonstrating their candidates’ weakness.

“Let me be clear: the Colorado GOP has not and does not endorse in primary races,” Burton Brown said. “These verifiably false and malicious mailers are criminal and we will be taking action. These mailers prove that Colorado Democrats know that Michael Bennet, Jared Polis, and Yadira Caraveo can’t run on their failed records so they are resorting to shameful lies.”

It’s a misdemeanor under Colorado law to “knowingly or recklessly” distribute false information to voters in an attempt to sway the outcome of an election, though the nearly 20-year-old statute has seldom, if ever, been enforced.

Last week, state Rep. Dave Williams, one of the Republicans challenging U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn in the 5th Congressional District primary, asked the local district attorney to consider filing criminal charges against Lamborn and his campaign, charging the eight-term incumbent with twisting the facts in TV and radio ads that target Williams. A spokesman for the prosecutor’s office told Colorado Politics on Tuesday that Williams’ complaint is under review. 

A spokesman for the state Republicans told Colorado Politics that the party will release details about its plan to hold the Democrats accountable after consulting with legal advisors.

Hanks told Colorado Politics that the fliers appear to have accurately described the two candidates’ positions.

“It is their 1st Amendment right, and I served 32 years in the military to protect that right,” Hanks said in a text message. “If their statements were inaccurate, I would refute them.”

A spokesman for O’Dea didn’t respond to a request for comment.