EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — An Evansville man faces criminal charges after an investigation into a false candidacy filing, the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office said in a Friday evening news release.
Kenneth Colbert, 61, was cited Friday with a misdemeanor court of falsely making a declaration of candidacy, the release said.
Investigators say Colbert filed to run for elected office on Feb. 3 despite being banned from doing so. The Republican Party had previously declared Colbert ineligible to run for office through Dec. 31, 2029, because he was not in good standing.
Vanderburgh County Clerk Dottie Thomas reported Feb. 3 that Colbert had come to the office to file as a Republican candidate for delegate to the Indiana GOP state convention. Thomas said Colbert completed paperwork and signed a signature affirming he met all requirements for the office. The Republican county clerk provided investigators with copies of Colbert’s candidacy paperwork along with a notice of ineligibility that had previously been served to him.
Detectives reviewed the documentation and confirmed Republicans had declared Colbert not in good standing, rendering him ineligible to run for office as a Republican until 2030.
Detectives also interviewed Michael Duckworth, who served as GOP chairman when the original ruling was made. Colbert and Cheryl Batteiger-Smith in 2024 had tried to undermine Duckworth through what was described in reporting at the time as an insurgency.
He told investigators that Colbert was clearly aware of the decision. Duckworth noted that Colbert had appealed the 8th District Republican Congressional Committee’s unanimous decision to keep him off the ballot until 2030, and the Indiana Election Commission had agreed to the committee’s ruling on his ineligibility.
Colbert told investigators he’d done nothing wrong. He claimed he had not been given paperwork regarding his ineligibility. However, Colbert mentioned he was in “bad standing” without being prompted by investigators’ questions.
The release said Colbert was given a court date for the morning of May 19. That’s after the May 5 primary.
