A Republican civil war is taking place in Vanderburgh County.
The County chair filed complaints against three people: Mike Daugherty, Cheryl Smith and Ken Colbert. Chairman Mike Duckworth has asked that they be determined not to be Republicans in Good Standing as defined by the State Party rules and be removed for cause as PCs and delegates (Daugherty and Colbert) and Smith as PC.
Smith lost her election to be a delegate. Some have posted that Braun is behind it because they are Beckwith supporters. Duckworth’s supporters called the allegations nonsense, as one of them was not a delegate.
The basis for Daugherty is he ran against the republican nominee for mayor as a Libertarian, and many local Republicans believe it cost her the election. Smith ran against State Rep. Wendy McNamara as an independent. And Colbert was accused of constantly bashing local Republicans and supporting Daugherty and Smith during their races against Republicans.
Colbert is also accused of harassing the county clerk to the point she recently resigned from her position early.
The three engaged in a “hostile takeover” of the County party by recruiting candidates to run as precinct committeemen. They recruited nearly 100 PC candidates throughout Vanderburgh County precincts, with 66 of them winning on May 7 without opposition.
According to state rules, a Republican in Good Standing can’t “actively or openly support another candidate against a Republican nominee” which they have all recently violated.
The Courier & Press reported that means Daugherty, Colbert and Batteiger-Smith are forbidden under party rules to seek any elected office as a Republican until December 31, 2029. The Committee’s decision was unanimous against all three.
This story will be updated.
