A Colorado Republican Party mailer is sparking controversy within the party

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Controversy is brewing within Colorado's republican party after a flier was sent out by the Colorado Republican Committee.

The flier is asking supporters to donate to the Colorado GOP while also accusing the Gazette of biased reporting. It also shows Congressional District 5 candidate Jeff Crank standing next to Donald Trump's rival, Niki Haley.

Crank told KRDO13 that it's inappropriate for the Colorado Republican committee to take sides by mentioning him on this flier, especially since party chair Dave Williams is running against him for the District 5 seat. 

"It's a picture that somebody took....and put it up and is trying to draw an inference off of that picture. It'd be similar to taking a picture of me with an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas and then, you know, putting it up and saying that I endorsed Elvis or something. I mean, it's just it's laughable, said Crank.

But Williams said the state party won't apologize for showing its support for Donald Trump.

"The mail piece we sent out was to warn republican voters not to trust the anti-Trump Gazette or the people they work with to push an anti-trump agenda," said Wiliams.

Crank is also the Regional Vice President of "Americans for Prosperity", a conservative political action group. He hosts a podcast for that group called American Potential. He said on a podcast episode that the decision by "Americans for Prosperity" to endorse Nikki Haley is a "courageous choice." He added that he "applauds that courage."

Crank said his comments were not an endorsement for Haley but rather a way to point out that it takes courage for any organization to get involved in a political primary, but Williams doesn't buy it. 

"It's clear that he supports Nikki Haley and if he's trying to run away from it, it's only because he knows that's not something that's popular with the party," said Williams.

The Colorado GOP chair remains firm in his claim that the state republican committee is just showing its strong support for the former president. He denied that the resources were used to directly attack a political rival.

KRDO13 also reached out to the El Paso County GOP chair, Vickie Tonkins. She agrees that the flier was intended as a show of support for Trump.

KRDO13 also reached out to Clarity Media, which owns the Gazette. They did not get back to us by our deadline.