WASHINGTON — Congressman Doug Lamborn won’t have an easy path to re-election if the latest fundraising reports are any indication.
New filings with the Federal Election Commission show the from Colorado Springs raised about a third as much money this spring as fellow Republican and state Sen. .
Between April 1 and June 30, Lamborn netted about $73,000 in campaign cash — far below the $228,000 raised by Hill, according to the reports.
There was a major difference, too, in how the two men got their money.
Most of Lamborn’s contributions — to the tune of $62,500 — came from political action committees, or PACs.
As is typical for challengers, Hill received far less, just $5,000, from PACs that represent companies or special interest groups. That came in the form of one $5,000 check from the American Hospital Association.
Much of Lamborn’s PAC money was tied to the congressional committees on which he serves: Armed Services and Natural Resources.
He got plenty of money from companies with military contracts, such as $1,000 from Boeing, $2,000 from Honeywell and $4,000 from Lockheed Martin. Energy companies also contributed, including $1,000 from the Black Hills Corp. and $1,000 from Cloud Peak Energy.
Despite the slow quarter, Lamborn still has a lot more money in his campaign coffers. He reported a cash-on-hand reserve of about $379,000 – much more than Hill’s $193,000, though hardly the imposing warchest that incumbents often boast.
Lamborn likely will need the money to defend his Republican-leaning seat against two GOP challengers in Colorado’s 5th Congressional District. Darryl Glenn, who failed last year in his bid last year to unseat U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Hill in opposing Lamborn.
The incumbent’s campaign spending over the past three months includes about $5,600 in payments to , a bookkeeping service run by his wife, Jean Lamborn.
It’s that Lamborn has paid his wife from his campaign coffers — a practice that’s come under criticism before. Since 2011, Jean Lamborn or her company have received about $94,000 from his campaign, according to federal election records.