NRSC filing complaint against Democrats over Colorado GOP senate race
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KRDO)--The National Republican Senatorial Committee says it is filing a federal complaint regarding the Colorado Senate Primary race.
Republican leaders allege that unknown Democrats are sending mailers to people while pretending to be Republicans.
According to the federal election commission, it is illegal to distribute election communications without a disclaimer and without saying who is behind the mailer.
Pullouts from a lawsuit filed by Joe O'Dea's campaign, show fliers comparing GOP senate candidates Ron Hanks, and Joe O'Dea. The material broadly alleges that O'Dea aligns with President Joe Biden and that he is in favor of stronger gun control.
Both Hanks and O'Dea are vying for Democrat incumbent Michael Bennet's Senate seat.
O'Dea is already suing Iowa-based 'Christian Printers', who the campaign alleges sent out the mailers. However, his team hasn't been able to figure out who is actually sending them. He's also filing suit against a "John Doe Organization," which they claim is "flouting the law, and not identifying itself."
According to a release from the NRSC, this complaint being sent to the federal election committee is just against Democrats.
A spokesperson for the Colorado Democratic Party told KRDO it's not associated with the mailers and it doesn't know where they came from.
The Colorado GOP says it doesn't endorse candidates until after the primary. Chair Kristi Burton Brown says she's frustrated by it but did not specifically ask for the NRSC to get involved.
"What's frustrating is that these mailers specifically say that the Republican Party has taken a side in the primary because it fails to disclose who's sending it," Burton Brown said. "It makes it look like the Republican Party is breaking our own rules and violating our integrity to be neutral in primaries."
This is not the only time Democrats have been accused of meddling in the Colorado Republican Primary Elections this year. A pricey series of television ads have been put out by the Democrat super PAC Democratic Colorado and are painted as attack ads on candidates that are "too conservative."
Democratic Colorado told KRDO it is focused on the November elections and helping the Democrats win. Poling the super PAC cited showed Bennett would fare better against Hanks than O'Dea.
"Seeing Democrats dump millions in a primary that does not belong to them, is not the kind of politics voters want to see played in Colorado," Burton Brown said. "Democrats are scared that Colorado is absolutely winnable for Republicans this year and they prefer to meddle in our primaries."
