U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette received a major fundraising boost from her own donors and is benefiting from big spending by outside groups in the final weeks of her campaign to fend off primary challengers in the 1st Congressional District.
She still has the advantage in direct fundraising, according to new preprimary reports on Thursday night. In other key Democratic races, U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper also led his primary challenger, Julie Gonzales, and Manny Rutinel led the money race against Shannon Bird in the 8th Congressional District primary.
In DeGette’s race, three political groups that haven’t yet reported their donors reported spending a combined $1.2 million this month to support her or oppose Melat Kiros, an attorney who identifies as a democratic socialist, in the June 30 primary. Also running is University of Colorado Regent Wanda James.
Most of the reported outside money — $860,000 — was spent just since Tuesday on digital and TV ads.
Another outside committee called Justice Democrats, which supports progressive candidates and is mostly funded by small-dollar donations, has spent nearly $178,000 on mailers and digital ads to support Kiros or oppose DeGette. Kiros now also has the backing of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who announced his endorsement on Friday morning.
DeGette has represented the district, which primarily covers Denver, for nearly 30 years.
The largest outside contribution in the race has come from a political action committee called Pro-Choice Majority Action, which spent nearly $460,000 this week on TV ads supporting DeGette. The committee is affiliated with EDW Action Fund, which supports Democratic women running for Congress.
Another group that hasn’t reported its donors, named “Mile High Accountability Project,” spent $350,000 earlier this month on digital advertising to support DeGette.
And Project 218, a super PAC that supports Democratic candidates and hasn’t reported its donors since April, spent $400,000 this week on digital and TV ads opposing Kiros. The group by InfluenceWatch as a Democratic Party-aligned super PAC affiliated with . The PACs aim to help Democrats win back the House majority, including by defending incumbents in primaries.
A fourth group, the National Association of Realtors PAC, spent $11,041 this month in support of DeGette.
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In the candidates' own fundraising, DeGette continued to outperform Kiros.
DeGette raised $445,000 from April 1 through June 10, nearly double the $263,500 in contributions she earlier reported from January through March. She entered the final 20 days of the campaign with about $460,000 on hand.Since June 10, DeGette has filed 48-hour notices reporting $40,000 in additional contributions, required for donations of $1,000 or more close to an election.
Kiros raised $280,000 during the reporting period through June 10 and ended with $88,421 in her campaign account going into the final weeks. That was an improvement on her first-quarter report, which showed nearly $175,000 in contributions. Since June 10, she's filed 48-hour notices for $53,900 in additional contributions.
James, the third Democrat in the race, continued her last-place fundraising. She brought in just under $39,000 over the past two months. She ended the period with $25,800 in the bank. Since June 10, she's reported $2,500 in additional contributions.
The presumptive Republican nominee in the race, Christy Peterson, has not reported any fundraising.
Gonzales gains ground on Hickenlooper
In the U.S. Senate primary, Gonzales, a state senator, gained some ground on Hickenlooper but overall continued to lag behind his fundraising.
Hickenlooper reported raising nearly $900,000 between April 1 and June 10, including donations from individuals and PACs and transfers from joint fundraising committees. He spent nearly $2 million during that period as pro-Hickenlooper ads blanketed TV and social media, leaving him with about $3 million in cash on hand. Since June 10, he's disclosed another $52,200 in contributions in 48-hour reports.
Gonzales improved upon her contributions from the first quarter, raising $424,000 in the new report, up from $264,000 in the previous one. Her spending paled in comparison to Hickenlooper's, with $313,000 in expenditures during the 10-week period.
As of June 10, she had $226,000 in cash remaining. She's since reported $3,100 in additional contributions.
The winner of the primary will run against Republican state Sen. Mark Baisley.
Rutinel leads fundraising among CD8 Democrats
In Colorado’s most competitive congressional district, Rutinel continued his lead in fundraising in the Democratic primary against his Bird, his former colleague in the Colorado House. A third candidate in that race, Evan Munsing, dropped out of the race in May.
The 8th District primary has been the focus of the most intense outside spending in Colorado this year, with recent independent expenditures aimed at helping Rutinel bringing the primary total to nearly $7 million. The district includes north metro Denver suburbs and Greeley.
In direct fundraising, Rutinel raised $643,146 between April 1 and June 10. He entered the final weeks of the primary with $909,500 and has filed 48-hour reports for another $43,500 in donations.
Bird raised $421,000 in contributions in the most recent period, ending it with about $290,667 in the bank. She's since reported $25,500 in contributions through 48-hour notices.
Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, who currently holds the seat, has been amassing a multimillion-dollar war chest to take on whoever wins the primary.
