Republicans looking to recover lost ground in 2024 will be pinning their hopes on legislative races in El Paso County. Last year, Democratic incumbent Rep. Marc Snyder (D-Manitou Springs) defeated Republican Shana Black, while Rep. Stephanie Vigil (D-Colorado Springs) squeezed out a narrow victory over Colorado Springs City Councilor Dave Donelson and Sen. Tony Exum (D-Colorado Springs) beat out former Sen. Dennis Hisey in newly redistricted Senate District 11.
In recent weeks, voters in El Paso County have received text messages from a group called the “Welcome Party,” which is looking for “moderate problem-solvers in Colorado Springs to run for local office.”
Mesa County, Colorado, Clerk Tina Peters, who faces multiple felony charges, may have lost her race in June’s primary GOP election, but her false allegations of election fraud live on through conspiracists in Colorado and nationally. One of those currently rallying under her banner is state Rep. Mark Finchem, Arizona’s Republican candidate for Secretary of State.
In a video conference call earlier this month, Republican activists from across the state discussed ways to challenge Colorado primary election results by blocking their certification, while criticizing the state Republican Party leaders and candidates whom they deem to be “establishment” or Republicans in name only (RINOs).
In El Paso County, home of more Republican voters than any other county in Colorado, one might assume that the winner of the Republican primary would have a clear path to victory in November, but you would be wrong.
Republicans in El Paso County threw a party, but didn’t invite the leadership of the… El Paso County Republicans. With their county party in disarray due to internal election irregularities, Colorado Springs Republicans gathered on their own for food, drink, and fundraising for Florida Congresswoman Kat Cammack, who refused to certify the 2020 election.
On Aug. 18, El Paso County Republican leaders filed a report with the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) reporting “multiple thefts” of thousands of dollars’ worth of financial records, ID badges, and a laptop computer from their party’s headquarters over the course of a year.
After months of intra-party disputes spilling into the press, El Paso County Republican leaders reached an agreement with one another and with state party chair Congressman Ken Buck to work together to elect GOP candidates and to play nice in the media.
Several Colorado Republican leaders are calling for El Paso County GOP Chair Vickie Tonkins to resign after she used the party’s official Facebook page to ask followers if they believe the COVID-19 pandemic is a manufactured hoax.
SECOND UPDATE (2023): Three and a half years after publication, Farah reached out to the Colorado Times Recorder. The headline has been revised to reflect her new information.
