Freshman Democrat U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet nearly matched his monumental fundraising haul from the first quarter. The two most-watched GOP gubernatorial candidates’ coffers remain a mystery. And state Rep. Cory Gardner nipped at the heels of Democratic Congresswoman Betsy Markey in the race for the 4th Congressional District.
Fundraising numbers for the second quarter — April through June — came trickling in Wednesday, painting a picture of races to come and leaving some questions.
Not all candidates had filed detailed state or federal disclosures as of Wednesday evening.
Bennet, who was appointed to his Senate seat in January, has spent $415,000 in the past two quarters, more than either of his would-be GOP opponents have raised. He brought in $1.2 million this quarter, the second time he’s broken the $1 million mark.
Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier brought in enough cash — $140,000 in 2 1/2 months — to officially make a bid for Bennet’s seat, he said. But he’ll first have to face Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, who more than doubled the councilman’s coffers, with $332,000 drummed up this quarter.
Meanwhile, incumbent Gov. Bill Ritter clocked in at $411,000 this quarter following a disappointing January through March that saw his monthly take dip into the tens of thousands.
Evergreen businessman and political newcomer Dan Maes is the only Republican gubernatorial candidate who reported fundraising, bringing in an estimated $5,500, though an official disclosure was not available Wednesday evening.
But former U.S. Congressman Scott McInnis and state Sen. Josh Penry formed their fundraising committees after June 30, which means no disclosures from them.
In the highly targeted race for the 4th Congressional District, freshman Democrat Rep. Betsy Markey clocked in at $260,000 this quarter, with a total of more than $1 million on hand.
Gardner emerged as the early money leader in the GOP primary for that seat by raising $200,000.
Gardner’s primary opponents — CU Regent Tom Lucero and Fort Collins City Councilman Diggs Brown — barely broke the five-figure mark.
And in a surprise showing, GOP challenger for state treasurer Walker Stapleton more than doubled the cash brought in by incumbent Cary Kennedy this quarter, though Kennedy surpassed her goal of $100,000 raised by June 30.
The Kennedy campaign pointed out that 98 percent of its contributions, totalling about $66,000, came from inside Colorado.
Stapleton’s list of donors include many Coloradans as well (about two-thirds of his total), but he also got help reaching his $138,000 from football star John Elway and Stapleton relatives including former first lady Barbara Bush.
Denver Post staff writers Lynn Bartels and Tim Hoover contributed to this report.
Candidates’ tallies so far
Wednesday was the deadline for announced candidates to file their quarterly campaign finance reports with either the secretary of state or the Federal Election Commission. A look at key races and how much candidates have raised this quarter and so far this year:
Governor
Bill Ritter, D-Denver*
Quarter: $411,361
Total: $529,294
Cash on hand: $366,529
Dan Maes, R-Evergreen
Quarter: n/a
Total: n/a
Cash on hand: n/a
Treasurer
Cary Kennedy, D-Denver*
Quarter: $65,928
Total: $101,363
Cash on hand: $72,896
Walker Stapleton, R-Greenwood Village
Quarter: $138,211
Total: $138,211
Cash on hand: $126,000
U.S. Senate
Michael Bennet, D-Denver*
Quarter: $1,222,730
Total: $2,649,130
Cash on hand: $2,233,738
Ken Buck, R-Greeley
Quarter: $332,655
Total: $332,655
Cash on hand: $314,288
Ryan Frazier, R-Aurora
Quarter: $140,000
Total: $140,000
Cash on hand: $127,000
4th Congressional District
Betsy Markey, D-Fort Collins*
Quarter: $260,000
Total: $603,611
Cash on hand: More than $500,000
Diggs Brown, R-Fort Collins
Quarter: $23,470
Total: $52,710
Cash on hand: $9,558
Cory Gardner, R-Yuma
Quarter: $205,940
Total: $205,940
Cash on hand: $181,958
Tom Lucero, Republican:
Quarter: $14,900
Total: $28,280
Cash on hand: $5,000
*Incumbent
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to a reporting error, the fundraising goal of State Treasurer Cary Kennedy was incorrectly reported. Kennedy sought to raise $100,000 in campaign contributions in
the first two quarters of 2009, and she did so.
