Republican Bob Beauprez has again reached into his own pocket to finance his campaign for governor, putting in more than one-third of the $2.4 million he has spent so far, according to the final campaign finance reports before next week’s election.
Beauprez, a former banker, has loaned his campaign $844,000, including $317,000 in the past two weeks, according to his report. He received $225,000 in other contributions during the most recent two-week fundraising period.
Beauprez had nearly $88,000 left in his campaign fund as of the report, filed Monday with the Colorado secretary of state’s office.
He has spent slightly more than $2.4 million since .
His opponent, incumbent Gov. John Hickenlooper, has spent more than $5.1 million. He has not loaned his re-election campaign any money and, as of Monday, had more than $117,000 on hand, according to his report.
According to Federal Communications Commission records, Beauprez had remaining TV ad contracts worth $18,785 at stations in Colorado Springs that serve central and southern parts of the state.
Beauprez’s campaign did not respond directly to questions about the personal loans and TV contracts.
“Bob got in this race to keep Colorado from languishing under four more years of John Hickenlooper’s indecision and failed policies,” Beauprez spokesman Allen Fuller said in an e-mail. “He is committed to making sure the campaign has the resources it needs to compete with Hickenlooper’s Washington, D.C., special-interest allies.”
Beauprez is the only statewide candidate to loan his campaign money this year. When he ran an unsuccessful race for governor in 2006, Beauprez loaned his campaign $540,308, records show.
During the most recent two-week cycle for campaign fundraising, Hickenlooper raised $367,139 and has about $130,000 in remaining TV advertising.
“Our campaign is focused on bringing people together, not creating division, and I think our level of support reflects that,” said Brad Komar, Hickenlooper’s campaign manager. “We are committed to creating new jobs, building a better environment for business and moving Colorado up. People across the state are showing their support for John and our positive, issue-driven campaign and their excitement for another four years.”
In the secretary of state’s race, Democrat Joe Neguse raised a total of $517,179 during the entire campaign to Republican Wayne Williams’ $244,112, reports show.
Incumbent state Treasurer Walker Stapleton, a Republican, raised $870,068 to the $524,197 collected by Democrat Betsy Markey, a former congresswoman.
The final reports for this year’s election campaigns are due to the secretary of state’s office Dec. 4.
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174, jbunch@denverpost.com or twitter.com/joeybunch
