One of the Republicans running in a primary for the seat held by retiring U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn is alleging that county and state GOP officials withheld lists of assembly delegates from some candidates, unfairly advantaging congressional candidate Dave Williams, the Colorado Republican Party chairman.

In a criminal complaint filed with District Attorney Michael Allen on Monday, first-time candidates Joshua Griffin alleged that Williams had early access last week to delegate information, while at the same time El Paso County GOP Chairwoman Vickie Tonkins was telling Griffin the delegate list wasn’t yet available.

“This lack of access hinders candidates’ ability to campaign effectively, potentially altering the outcome of the primary elections,” Griffin said in an affidavit. “It undermines the principles of transparency and fairness that are foundational to our electoral system.”

Added Griffin: “I’m doing because it’s the right thing to do and if we let this slide we’ll lose more numbers to the unaffiliated community The people need to know there’s someone out there that’s willing to fight what’s right and not wait until they get in office to do so.”

Williams’ campaign and Tonkins called Griffin’s allegations unfounded and frivolous.

Griffin is asking Allen, a fellow Republican, to investigate whether Williams and Tonkins violated a Colorado law that prohibits “fraudulent, dishonest, or corrupt” conduct surrounding the caucus and assembly process, which is one way candidates can qualify for the primary ballot.

Williams and Griffin are among five Republicans running for the open 5th Congressional District seat held by Lamborn, a Colorado Springs Republican, who announced earlier this year that he wouldn’t seek a 10th term. The others are state Sen. Bob Gardner, former state Rep. Douglas Bruce and podcaster and political consultant Jeff Crank.

Republicans in the district, which roughly coincides with El Paso County, held held precinct caucuses on March 7, where they elected delegates to county, state and congressional district assemblies.

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According to emails and text messages filed by Griffin with his complaint, Williams sent an email on the afternoon of March 13, congratulating newly elected assembly delegates and introducing himself, including an endorsement from former President Donald Trump.

Shortly after multiple supporters forwarded Williams’ email to Griffin, the candidate asked Tonkins for the delegate list but was told by her in an email that the information “is not ready,” according to an email chain attached to Griffin’s complaint. Later that same day, other Republicans told Griffin that Williams might have had access to a central database that included caucus information from counties throughout the state.

“Dave cannot use his authority or knowledge to gain information before it’s made public,” Griffin told Colorado Politics in a text message, explaining why he was alarmed that Williams appeared to have access to the list of delegates and their contact information before other candidates.

Griffin said he obtained a list of delegates later that day from another county Republican officer and made it available to other candidates.

A spokesman for Williams’ campaign dismissed Griffin’s complaint in a text message to Colorado Politics.

“President Trump endorsed Dave Williams because he knows Dave will advance our America-First values in Congress, and this frivolous complaint-from someone who was too unserious to take the same opportunity every candidate had only serves to help anti-Trump candidates like Jeff Crank or Bob Gardner,” said Chris McIntire, Williams’ communications director.

“Utter lies,” Tonkins said in an email to Colorado Politics.

The 5th CD assembly is set to take place Saturday in Colorado Springs, with candidates needing support from at least 30% of delegates to qualify for a slot in the June 25 primary. Candidate can also qualify for the ballot by petition, and on Monday the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office announced that Crank had done so.

A Crank campaign spokesman told Colorado Politics that Crank was “weighing his options” whether to go through the assembly process after already making the ballot. The Crank advisor added a thinly veiled jab aimed at Williams, whose decision to stay on as party chairman while in a contested primary has drawn heavy criticism from some Republicans.

“The Colorado Republican Party must be solely focused on defeating Democrats,” the Crank advisor said in a text message. “Distractions only help Joe Biden and his fellow liberals.”

The advisor added: “Jeff is still weighing his options. He is grateful to have such strong grassroots support for his campaign to secure our border and fix Joe Biden’s failed economy.”

Bruce, who last week shelved plans to petition and told Colorado Politics he intends to pursue the nomination at the district assembly, said in an email Monday that he received the delegate list last week, adding that the 5th CD’s GOP chairman has been helpful.

“I expect the nomination process this Saturday to be fair,” Bruce said.

Two years ago, when Williams was challenging Lamborn in the Republican primary for the congressional seat, Williams asked prosecutors to determine whether Lamborn and his campaign had violated another Colorado law that prohibits distributing false information meant to influence an election.

Ahead of the 2022 primary, Williams objected to attack ads aired by Lamborn’s campaign that claimed Williams had been “fired” by Trump’s Colorado campaign and accused Williams, a former state lawmaker, of sponsoring legislation to divert funds from law enforcement.

Months after Lamborn defeated Williams in the primary, Allen, the district attorney, announced that he wouldn’t pursue any charges stemming from Williams’ complaint.