DENVER–The candidate fundraising totals in Colorado’s Democrat gubernatorial primary tells a story of David vs Goliath, but the ending hasn’t been completed, as it still leaves voters asking why the man writing the biggest checks to propel U.S. Senator Michael Bennet over the top doesn’t even live here.
New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg has dumped nearly $3.5 million into Rocky Mountain Way, the super PAC backing Bennet’s bid for governor, illustrating how out-of-state money has come to influence Colorado politics ahead of the June 30 primary election.
Rocky Mountain Way has hauled in $10.3 million total and spent $7.46 million, mostly on television advertising and mailers boosting Bennet. That’s more than either Bennet or the second Democrat in the race, Attorney General Phil Weiser, raised on their own.
Bennet himself has raised $4.84 million, loaned his campaign an additional $950,000, and spent over $5 million — with heavy spending on digital advertising and travel. Weiser, has outraised him directly with $6.53 million raised and $6.07 million spent, but Bloomberg’s super PAC spending more than closes that gap.
Combined, that adds up to double Weiser’s expenditures, a whopping $12.5 million spent in favor of Bennet.
Rocky Mountain Way’s other donors are worth noting too. A dark-money nonprofit called Brighter Future for Colorado (which doesn’t disclose its donors) kicked in just over $1 million. The Colorado Trial Lawyers Association added $825,000, while Uber and DaVita each chipped in $50,000.
Campaign finance troubles
Bennet’s spending habits may land him hot water, however. While his gubernatorial spending might be high, where a portion of that money appears to be coming from is not allowed under Colorado’s campaign finance laws. Some of his ads claim to be paid for “Bennet for Colorado,” which is his U.S. Senatorial committee, which cannot spend money on his run for governor.
While the campaign claimed they use Bennet for Colorado and Bennet for Governor interchangeable, the ads were removed once they were reported. Bennet remains under investigation. He has a hear scheduled for July 28th, long after the primary is over.
The Weiser aligned super PAC, Fighting for Colorado, raised just $1.28 million, mostly from individuals, and spent $714,000, almost entirely on advertising. But Weiser is not immune from trouble. His campaign is also facing campaign finance woes. Weiser is returning thousands of dollars to donors after CBS 4 uncovered $75,000 from 68 attorneys at 12 law firms that Weiser had had just settled with. According to CBS, 66 percent of the donations were made within four months of settlements.
It’s not clear who is really leading the pack on the Republican side. If fundraising alone (Victor Marx — $2.84 million raised and $2.64 million spent; Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer — $608,000 raised and $541,000 spent; Rep. Scott Bottoms — $227,000 raised, $228,000 spent with a $15,000 loan) were the determining factor, Marx’s self-proclaimed frontrunner status would hold true. However, Marx is also likely to return thousands in of donations after Marx’s campaign finances came under scrutiny as well.
Marx accepted 152 donations over the maximum allowed by an individual under state law, sometimes four times the legal amount. Marx also has campaign finance complaints still to answer that he has hundreds of fake donations in an attempt to hide where his money is coming from. Until those complaints are all completed there is no proof as to how much money Marx has really raised.
But the headline remains Bloomberg. A New York billionaire who once ran for president and lost is now spending millions to shape who runs Colorado.
