Rep. Marilyn Musgrave raised almost $247,000 in the first quarter of this year and ended March with more than $267,000 in her campaign fund, federal election filings show.
Those amounts put the Fort Morgan Republican, in her second term representing the 4th Congressional District, behind her fundraising pace for the 2006 election cycle. In the first quarter of 2005, Musgrave raised $389,000. At the end of that quarter, she had $422,000 in her coffer.
Campaign spokesman Jason Thielman said Musgrave in the same period two years ago had received $180,000 from a Republican fund. Subtracting that from the total two years ago, he said, and Musgrave is ahead of her pace on fundraising.
Musgrave needs a hefty campaign fund. Of the seven House members from Colorado elected in 2006, Musgrave spent the most to win her seat. In her re-election bid, Musgrave used up $3.2 million. Her Democratic opponent, Angie Paccione, spent slightly less than $2 million.
In the three months ending March 31, almost $215,000 of new money coming into the campaign came from individuals. Another $32,000 came from political action committees.
Individuals and political action committees based in Colorado gave Musgrave slightly more than $68,000, or about 58 percent of the total. The rest came from 24 other states, Washington, D.C., and Guam. That Guam contribution was $500 from Kenneth Jones, chairman of J&G Enterprises. Many of the individual contributions from states other than Colorado were for $250 or less.
Thielman said Musgrave had another $30,000 in contributions from Colorado, that do not appear under the list of givers because they are under $200 each. Those are grouped as “unitemized contributions.”
Musgrave’s biggest contribution, $5,000, came from the American Sugarbeet Growers Association political action committee. The American Bankers Association PAC and the Conservative Opportunity Leadership & Enterprise PAC each contributed $2,500.
Musgrave also received money from political action committees of Anheuser-Busch, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, Denver-based Qwest, Xcel Energy and Employees of Northrop Grumman Corp., among others.
Of her individual contributions, the largest came from 10 individuals. Those included Raymond Anderson, president of SEAKR Engineering in Colorado, who gave $2,300 for the primary race, and another $1,900 for the general election.
John Saeman, president of Denver-based investment and management company Medallion Enterprises, gave $2,300 and $1,900 as well. His wife, Carol Saeman, gave $2,300 and $1,900.
Musgrave’s campaign recorded about $68,000 in costs for the first quarter. The campaign still owes $20,000 to a supplier for printing.
The campaign fund started the quarter with about $69,000 on hand.
