El Paso County Republican Party Chairwoman Vickie Tonkins has called on GOP nominee Joe Roybal to contemplate withdrawing from his race for sheriff in the upcoming November election following accusations he bribed petition signers to get on the primary ballot.

In an unsigned letter written on the party’s official letterhead and dated July 23, Tonkins, whose contact information is listed, wrote that Roybal “should strongly consider stepping back from running for El Paso County sheriff” so residents “can vote for a solid conservative and claim an unvarnished, untainted win in November.”

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Roybal admitted this month to unknowingly violating Colorado election law when he allowed a local shooting range owner in February to offer a $5 discount at his shooting range to entice voters to sign Roybal’s petition to get onto the GOP primary ballot.

Roybal won the Republican nomination for the sheriff’s seat in the June 28 primary.

Last week, 10th Judicial District Attorney Jeff Chostner said he would not pursue charges of election bribery against Roybal. In a letter of warning, though, Chostner admonished the candidate’s actions as “reprehensible and contrary to the functioning of a representative democracy.”

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Chostner’s office launched an investigation early this month into the alleged election violation involving Roybal and shooting range owner Mel “Dragon Man” Bernstein. Former sheriff’s contender Karl Dent filed a formal complaint with the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office on June 30 alleging Bernstein bribed voters to sign Roybal’s petition. Since 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen had publicly endorsed Roybal, Dent requested his complaint be referred to the Colorado Attorney General’s Office for further investigation. Instead, Allen asked Chostner to take on the case as a special prosecutor, a move permitted under state law.

Tonkins, in her July 23 letter, said “the perpetual stench of this misstep is poised to haunt Roybal throughout his term and the (Colorado GOP) for the foreseeable future …”

Through a short statement issued from his campaign Tuesday morning, Roybal said he had no intention of withdrawing.

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“I will never withdraw from the race. The voters chose their candidate on June 28,” he said. 

Karl Schneider, vice chairman of the El Paso County GOP party, said Tonkins’ opposition to Roybal as a Republican nominee for office is an “unheard of” move that violates Colorado Republican Committee bylaws.

“It’s absolutely inappropriate,” Schneider said. “In general, the party position and the party chair should support all candidates. … It is certainly against all things, party-wise, to actively go against a candidate publicly.”

Tonkins told The Gazette on Tuesday she asked Roybal to consider withdrawing because “this bribery will be an issue with his run. … I have to think about the whole of El Paso County Republicans and not just one race.”

Tonkins also said this has happened before. She pointed to the Colorado Republican Party’s statewide officers, including Chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown, requesting unsuccessful secretary of state candidate Tina Peters suspend her campaign in March, while under indictment on several felony charges related to allegations she tampered with voting equipment in her former capacity as Mesa County clerk.

Schneider said Tonkins’ move is symptomatic of a widening split between the local Republican party leadership — “Vickie Tonkins,” he said — and a slate of largely incumbent El Paso County Republicans who swept the primary races with landslide victories.

Rejected candidates in each of the Republican races had promoted election conspiracy theories and supported major reforms, such as a return to hand-counting ballots. They campaigned as a slate, with several of them appearing on stage at events with Tonkins, a choice some saw as favoritism within the party.

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Schneider said he believed Tonkins’ call for Roybal to consider withdrawing from the race was a maneuver to get “radical, extreme, hyper-antagonistic candidates of her choice to be on the ballot to be elected.”

Tonkins did not respond directly to that criticism, but said the rift “is one that has been in this party for decades, it just comes out more against me because I will fight for truth where others have not in the past.”

She has previously denied accusations of favoritism.

Roybal will face Democratic sheriff’s candidate John Foley in the November election.