For the second fundraising period in a row, Secretary of State Scott Gessler and now he has launched .
The ad attacks two of Gessler’s GOP rivals, former congressmen Bob Beauprez and Tom Tancredo, by arguing that Beau- prez and .
“We can’t afford to lose again!” says a narrator, who notes Gessler defeated the incumbent Democratic secretary of state and is a proven conservative.
Meanwhile, Tancredo is questioning why Gessler missed two campaign filing deadlines.
“I just wonder if he gets a letter from himself fining himself,” Tancredo said.
Ballots went out Monday, and it’s clear from the ad and Tancredo’s comment that the mostly snark-free campaign will be a mad scramble from now until the June 24 primary. The winner faces Democrat John Hickenlooper in November.
Monday was the deadline for state candidates to file their donation-and-expense reports from May 15 to May 28 with the secretary of state.
Gessler collected almost $40,000, Tancredo around $39,000. Former Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp, who has struggled to raise money, came in third, and Beauprez was a surprising fourth, with $21,860. Beauprez loaned the campaign another $100,000, meaning he now has put $320,000 of his own money into the race.
“What we have focused on is the thing that is going to be most important on June 24, and that’s votes,” Beauprez said. “Nobody’s been traveling around the state like I have.”
Hickenlooper’s numbers reflect his advantage as the incumbent. He raised $113,300 this period and has more than $832,000 cash on hand after of more than $900,000 last fundraising period.
Among the donations to Hickenlooper: $1,100 from former GOP gubernatorial candidate Marc Holtzman, who battled with Beauprez in 2006 .
“(Hickenlooper) is a great governor, favors a pro-business approach to developing our natural resources in a responsible way, is a consensus-oriented person who unites and brings people together, tirelessly and successfully promotes Colorado’s economic development and deserves a second term,” Holtzman said, when asked about the donation.
The next fundraising period covers May 29 through June 11, with reports due June 16.
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327, lbartels@denverpost.com or twitter.com/lynn_bartels
Dialing for dollars
Monday was the deadine for state candidates to turn in their funraising records for the past two weeks.
BOB BEAUPREZ
This period: $21,860
Total: $258,850
Loan this period: $100,000
Total loan: $320,000
Cash on hand: $115,996
SCOTT GESSLER
This period: $39,794
Total: $490,039
Cash on hand: $69,143
MIKE KOPP
This period: $24,365
Total: $244,008
Cash on hand: $30,034
TOM TANCREDO
This period: $38,627
Total: $751,722
Cash on hand: $63,412
GOV. JOHN HICKENLOOPER
This period: $113,300
Total: $2,802,004
Cash on hand: $832,319
Source: Secretary of State
