Colorado GOP censures El Paso Co. Republican chair Vickie Tonkins, some support decision

El Paso County, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Colorado Republican Party stepped in to censure the chairwoman of the El Paso County Republican Party, adding to the ongoing turmoil within the local party.

The Colorado Republican Committee (COGOP) said four days before the 2022 General Election, chair Vickie Tonkins censured seven Republican candidates on the ballot without any constructive or valid reasons.

According to the COGOP, the official duty of any Colorado Republican Party chair is to support Republican candidates for office who win their primary races. The committee states Tonkins violated her role as chairwoman by not supporting the candidates.

While the El Paso County GOP said the censure is purely symbolic, the state thought it was in the party's best interest to show their disapproval of Tonkins' actions.

She's also accused of repeatedly rejecting requests to hold her special meeting after the election.

The COGOP said Tonkins flagrantly and intentionally violated her duty as County Chairman, and instead of supporting the seven Republican candidates running in the General Election, she actively opposed them.

Vice Chairman Karl Schneider said it's an "absolute embarrassment" to the Republicans in El Paso County that the COGOP censured the local county party chair.

"It doesn't do a whole lot except make it a statement of fact that the Colorado GOP disagrees with the activities of the party chair and thinks that they are not commensurate with the Republican values and the Republican bylaws," said Schneider.

Schneider acknowledged that there have been some disagreements on party ideology across the county and El Paso County.

"It will end when people grow up. Plain and simple. The fact of the matter is, is that the maturity level within a small ilk of the party," said Schneider.

Schneider said there is no trust or confidence in anything that the party chair does.

"She consistently violates campaign finance law. There have been two instances of violating campaign finance law to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. I'm sure you're aware of that. She doesn't follow the bylaws when the executive committee votes and determines the direction of the party," said Schneider.

KRDO also spoke with one of the candidates censured by Tonkins, Steve Schleiker. He ran for El Paso County Clerk and Recorder.

According to Schleiker, the censure affected his campaign. He told KRDO he believes the decision to censure Tonkins was right.

In the springtime, there will be an election for the El Paso County GOP chair.

KRDO reached out to Tonkins, but she declined to comment at this time.