, a nonprofit organization started by private-sector volunteers on Gov. Jared Polis’ COVID-19 task forces, opened its about two weeks ago. So far, they’ve received more than 400 orders.

Other volunteers from the business community are available as mentors for issues like dealing with mental health in the workplace and staying afloat during an economic downturn, said Brad Feld, chairman of Energize Colorado. They also have templates for different types of businesses to help work through how they can implement social distancing.

“The best source of help, in those scenarios, is often your peers,” he said.

Noel Ginsburg, an entrepreneur and member of the governor’s task force focused on finding protective equipment suppliers, said some businesses, like small hospitals, are struggling to get enough equipment because they don’t place large enough orders to interest suppliers, while other businesses never needed masks or gloves until now.

“Almost any business that’s going to reopen is going to need (personal protective equipment),” he said.

Health care providers get first priority, but almost any business can place an order, Ginsburg said. They don’t allow purchases for resale, and will review unusually large orders to avoid shipping to purchasers who might be engaged in price gouging, he said.

“We do not want to in any way support the kind of profiteering that’s going on,” he said.

Prices for masks and some other equipment are still elevated, though they’re starting to slowly fall as Chinese manufacturers ramp up capacity, Ginsburg said. Prices should continue to decline, unless there’s another outbreak, or the Chinese government restricts exports in response to heated rhetoric from Washington, he said.

Masks are “coming down from exorbitant, ridiculous pricing to less exorbitant,” he said.

Ginsburg said he and a fellow volunteer vet the overseas suppliers, and Colorado State University tests samples from mask providers. Colorado companies are supplying hand sanitizer and face shields, he said.

Much of the administrative work was done by volunteers, and a zero-interest loan from the Colorado Health Foundation allowed them to buy enough equipment to start filling orders, Ginsburg said. Once they’ve sold the equipment, they’ll repay the foundation. The goal isn’t to produce a profit, so customers only pay the cost of the equipment itself and of moving it, he said.

The marketplace isn’t meant to be a long-term option, Ginsburg said. Once businesses can buy the equipment they need through traditional channels, the marketplace will wind down, he said.

“We’ll provide it as long as it’s needed,” he said.

The total poured into elections tracked by the state through May 2 neared $56 million, according to a Denver Post analysis of campaign finance records from 2017 and 2018.

The bulk of the big money targets the open governor’s race, where four of the 10 top donors are aligned with Democratic candidate Mike Johnston and promote charter schools. Three of the other top donors are oil and gas companies.

The influx of campaign cash this cycle is attributed to the most contested governor’s race in decades, a prevalence of super PAC-like committees without contribution limits and rich candidates willing to spend big on their own races.

How much is ultimately spent, however, is much harder to discern. A nebulous network of political nonprofit organizations will inject millions in the election, but the law doesn’t require many of them to disclose their donors or spending in a timely fashion, if ever.

Here’s a look at the top 10 public donors in the 2018 election cycle so far – and which candidates they want to elect in the June primary and November general election.

1. Jared Polis – $6.4 million

The top donor so far this election cycle is a candidate. Polis, a five-term Boulder congressman, is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor and self-financing his bid. The campaign capped donations from supporters at $100 and declined to take political action committee money. (His congressional leadership committee, however, has accepted PAC money. But it can’t be used to help his gubernatorial campaign.)

Polis has declined to say how much he would put into the race, but he appears willing to spend whatever it takes. He wrote a $2.2 million check to his campaign on March 7, the day after he lost the caucus vote to rival Cary Kennedy, and another $750,000 on April 16, immediately after Kennedy bested him at the state assembly, where the two candidates qualified for the ballot.

2. Anadarko Petroleum Corp. – $2.5 million

The embattled oil and gas company donated the vast majority of its political money to Protecting Colorado’s Environment, Economy and Energy Independence.��The issue committee —��better known as Protect Colorado — focuses on local ballot initiatives, supporting energy development and opposing efforts to limit drilling.

Colorado’s largest energy driller is facing increasing criticism from six former high-ranking employees and a former contractor who say the company prioritized profits over safety ahead of a fatal home explosion in Firestone in April 2017 caused by its pipeline.

The second-largest benefactor is the Senate Majority Fund, which received $25,000. The committee is dedicated to electing a Republican majority in the state Senate.

3. Education Reform Now Advocacy – $1.1 million

The New York-based political nonprofit supports the expansion of charter schools and merit pay linked to student test scores.

The so-called doesn’t disclose its donors and funnels money to its Colorado sister organization, . The latter sits at the center of a , which accused the reform movement of supporting privatization, in part because of its efforts to push back against teacher unions.

The majority of Education Reform Now Advocacy’s spending in the state goes to Raising Colorado, which collected $975,000 in the past two years, and supported candidates for the Denver school board. The majority of Education Reform Now Advocacy’s spending in the state goes to Raising Colorado, which collected $975,000 in the past two years, and supported candidates for the Denver school board.

Raising Colorado is not participating in the gubernatorial primary races. However, a separate but once-related group called Students For Education Reform Action Network is supporting Johnston, a former state senator and school principal.

4 (tie). Michael Bloomberg – $1 million

The billionaire and former New York City mayor contributed $1 million to Frontier Fairness, an independent political committee akin to a super PAC that supports Johnston in the governor’s race. (Johnston’s campaign slogan is “Frontier Fairness,” but he is not allowed to coordinate with the group.)

The $1 million check is the largest single donation this cycle in��support��of a candidate and helped Frontier Fairness top $3.8 million in donations to date, with $1.8 million in the bank through May 2. Bloomberg is an education reform advocate and one of the leading donors to the school-choice movement as a champion of charter schools, according to .

Before now, Bloomberg contributed only $514,000 to state-level races in Colorado, according to state records, his biggest prior investment coming in 2013 to oppose the recall elections of two state senators who supported tougher regulations on firearms.

4 (tie). Reid Hoffman – $1 million

The LinkedIn co-founder and venture capital investor supports Johnston in the governor’s race and, like other big donors, supports an expansion of charter schools.

Hoffman, who lives in California’s Silicon Valley, made two donations totaling $1 million to the Frontier Fairness PAC��this cycle. He visited the state in March , the first time he traveled to a political event, he said.

He donated $1 million to help re-elect President Barack Obama and credits as the impetus for his more active role in politics.

��4 (tie). Sue and Stephen Mandel – $1 million

The billionaire Greenwich, Conn., couple each contributed $500,000 to support the Frontier Fairness PAC.

Stephen Mandel is the managing director of Lone Pine Capital, a hedge fund he founded in 1997 that manages $25 billion in assets, . The Mandels are major Democratic donors, and their philanthropic giving is and like-minded advocacy groups.

The Mandels’ Zoom Foundation for paying for three fellows to work in the Connecticut governor’s office after helping to elect a Democrat to the post.

7. Walker Stapleton – $499,000

The Republican candidate for governor and two-term state treasurer raised $1.4 million through the latest public reports, and a third of it came from his own pocket.

Stapleton is spending most of the $830,000 in his bank account on a new television commercial in which he aligns himself with Trump. That stance comes despite his��earlier unwillingness to say whether he would accept the president����ap endorsement.

The Bush family relative also is supported by an independent super PAC, Better Colorado Now, which raised $880,000 and had $400,000 on hand to start the month.

8. PDC Energy – $424,000

Like Anadarko, the oil and gas driller and its related political action committee directed most of its money to Protect Colorado.

Denver-based PDC Energy is one of the largest oil and gas companies on the Front Range and announced plans to invest $480 million in Colorado operations in 2018.

The company also contributed more than $25,000 to help elect Republican candidates to the state legislature.

9. Liberty Oilfield Services – $359,000

Liberty Oilfield Services aligns with the other two energy companies on the list in donating most of its money – $356,000 – to Protect Colorado.

The collective investments suggest the industry is poised to spend big in 2018 to fight a potential ballot initiative on gas drilling, as well as push their issues in other races. From 2012 to 2016, the industry spent $80 million on political efforts, much of it through Protect Colorado.

Liberty’s CEO Chris Wright also is a top donor to the Koch brothers political network.

10. Noel Ginsburg – $345,000

The wealthy entrepreneur put significant sums into his bid for the Democratic nomination for governor but didn’t get traction. He��exited the race in March after saying he didn’t have the money to win, and he declined to endorse a rival. Ginsburg also repaid himself for a $100,000 campaign loan in 2017.

Updated��May 21, 2018, at 2:30 p.m.��The��following��corrected��information��has��been��added to this article: Because of a reporting error, the story incorrectly described Raising Colorado’s role in the primary election. The organization is not backing a candidate. However, a separate organization, Students for Education Reform Action Network, is supporting Johnston.

The entrepreneur and first-time political candidate said he collected enough signatures to qualify for the primary ballot but realized he didn’t have the campaign cash to keep up with the other candidates.

“I don’t believe I have the resources to be fully competitive,” Ginsburg said in an interview.

The founder of Intertech Plastics put his own money into the race, but state records show his campaign account finished 2017 with less than $224,000 — far from enough to keep up with one of the deepest fields for governor in Colorado’s history.

The same day Ginsburg dropped out, Democratic candidate��Jared Polis,��a wealthy Boulder congressman, announced that his campaign bought $1.6 million in television advertising time in the three weeks before the June 26 primary.

Other Democrats also still in the race include former state Sen. Mike Johnston, former state Treasurer Cary Kennedy and current Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne.

From the start, Ginsburg struggled to gain traction in the crowded field but emerged as one of the most practical candidates in the race. He pushed back against his rivals’ promises of making the state’s electric grid run on 100 percent renewable energy and paying for full-day pre-kindergarten, calling them unattainable and the wrong policies.

“The proposals we make shouldn’t be made on what is vote-getting, it should be based on what is possible,” he said.

Ginsburg said he is not making an endorsement in the race because he is returning to his role as CEO and chairman at , a nonprofit youth apprenticeship program he developed with Gov. John Hickenlooper. But he said he will support whichever Democratic candidate emerges from the primary.

A significant number of Democratic and Republican voters appeared undecided about their favorite candidates and remained split on which offers their party the best chance to win in November.

Asked his candidate preference, James Quinn, an 89-year-old Republican voter in Arvada, put it simply: “I really don’t know.”

The same sentiment extended to dozens of voters interviewed at caucus meetings in three key election battlegrounds in the Denver area and represented the first official assessment of the top-of-the-ticket race.

The neighborhood-level gatherings at schools and churches across the state helped give candidates an opportunity to qualify for the June primary ballot, and this year’s caucus also revealed enthusiasm on the Democratic side ahead of the 2018 election.

For Democrats, the caucus proved especially important. The party conducted a preference vote that allocated delegates to each candidate for the upcoming county assemblies. But the final statewide tally was not immediately available Tuesday, making it difficult to tell who won the caucus.

The candidates spent months recruiting supporters to attend the meetings in order to win delegates and build support before the April state assembly, where candidates need 30 percent to secure a spot on the primary ballot.

But even the Democratic voters who cast a vote for a particular candidate suggested that their support was not set in stone.

“I’m still on the line between Cary Kennedy and Jared Polis,” said Kayla Tuite, a 30-year-old who caucused at Vikan Middle School in Brighton, a key swing area in Adams County. “I think Jared probably has the best chance of winning, (but) I like Cary Kennedy.”

Tuite said she was concerned with Polis’ views on oil and gas drilling and guns. As for Kennedy, she said: “My only concern with her is I don’t know if she has the backing to win.”

Kennedy, the former state treasurer, is the only top Democrat relying on the caucus process to get her name on the ballot. Three other prominent candidates — businessman Noel Ginsburg, former state Sen. Mike Johnston and Polis — are trying to win delegates at the caucus but also are seeking to qualify through the petition process. Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne solely is collecting signatures to make the ballot.

“I’m really torn between Cary Kennedy and Jared Polis,” said Harry Doby, who caucused at Smiley Middle School in Denver. “I think both have really strong agendas and … from their personal history, they are very capable of passing their agendas.”

People are filtering into the Democratic precinct caucus in Brighton at Vikan Middle School. For the governor’s race, I’m heading support for Polis/Kennedy. People I’ve talked to don’t know much about Johnston and others.

— Jesse Aaron Paul (@JesseAPaul)

Brighton residents Kathleen Furlong, 68, and her husband, Robert, 70, were supporting Polis for governor.

Both are retired teachers. Education and the environment are the two most important issues to the couple, and they believe Polis is the most realistic candidate.

“He wants to get Colorado dependent only on alternative fuels, and that’s really important to me. I’m not an oil and coal person,” Kathleen Furlong said.

Walker Stapleton a favorite among Republicans

On the Republican side, the party did not assign delegates through a poll.

But some counties conducted a nonbinding straw poll to gauge support for their four top contenders, Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, former state Rep. Victor Mitchell, businessman Doug Robinson and Treasurer Walker Stapleton.

Coffman is the only top Republican seeking to earn a spot on the ballot solely through the caucus, which is a risky path given her views on litmus-test social issues that sometimes don’t align with party activists.

In a handful of precincts at Ralston Valley High School in Jefferson County, Stapleton seemed to dominate the conversation. Several voters cited his ability to raise funds and win the general election.

“Walker Stapleton is the one I am voting (for),” said Kenny Lombardi, 45, of Arvada. Lombardi said he’s concerned about taxes and the size of government. “When he ran for treasurer, I liked what he had to say.”

Still, other Republicans who backed Stapleton in the straw poll said they weren’t ready to endorse him. The indecision is reflected in a recent survey of Republican voters by Magellan Strategies, which found that heading into the caucuses, nearly four in 10 likely primary voters remained uncommitted.

As ballots were circulated in one precinct, a voter remarked: “How am I supposed to know who these people are?”

Democrats see boost in enthusiasm

At Smiley Middle School, two Democratic rivals — Johnston and Kennedy — caucused at the same location and competed for votes among their neighbors who gathered from 18 precincts. Both candidates rallied the crowd of more than 350 with pointed comments about President Donald Trump.

The topic of the first two questions for Democrat Cary Kennedy at her precinct meeting in Denver? Guns.

— John Frank (@ByJohnFrank)

Kennedy’s pitch drew loud cheers when she touted her plan to offer Medicaid health care coverage as an option to all and promised to “take on the Trump administration.”

Johnston invoked an inscription from the Columbine High School shooting memorial in his comments about gun violence and the Republican president. “I would say these last two years have brought this country also to its knees,” he said. “Let all us all commit tonight to when we get up this time everything will have changed.”

Kennedy won all three delegate slots at her precinct, while Johnston evenly split the two delegates with her at his caucus.

Correspondents Arren Kimbel-Sannit, Derek Hall, SuElen Rivera and Abdel Jimenez Toscuento contributed to this report.

The neighborhood-level meetings are the first step in the state’s caucus system — a complicated process that is designed to build political-party support and give candidates at all levels a path to get their name on the ballot.

The much-contested governor’s race is the top of the ticket this year, and the candidates from both parties have spent months asking supporters to represent them at the 3,000-plus neighborhood-level precinct meetings that will take place.

On a broader level, the turnout for the caucus will offer clues about Democratic and Republican enthusiasm in the era of President Donald Trump.

Here’s what you need to know about the 2018 Colorado caucuses and how to participate.

What is a caucus?

The political parties in Colorado hold��local gatherings known as precinct meetings to start each party’s candidate-nomination process. The meetings typically take place at local schools, churches and community centers, and mostly the party’s die-hard supporters attend.

The caucus agenda consists of three main tasks: Select precinct leaders to two-year terms; elect delegates and alternates to county assemblies and, in some cases, the state convention; and vote on issue resolutions to the party platform.

Before the delegate election, local and statewide candidates or their representatives often give speeches to convince delegates to vote for them. Those seeking delegate status also can give a short speech to persuade people to select them to advance to the next level.

Who is eligible to participate?

Only members of the political parties are allowed to participate in their respective caucuses, and the deadline to affiliate as a Democrat or Republican for the caucuses passed in early January. Also, party members must have registered to vote at their precinct location by early February to be eligible. To check your registration status, visit and click on “find my registration.”

The caucuses are open to the public for those who wish to observe them.

Why can’t unaffiliated voters participate?

The plurality of Colorado registered voters — 38 percent, or 1.4 million — are not affiliated with a political party, so they are not able to participate. The reason: The caucuses are run by the political parties, not the state, and the parties restrict participation to their members. At the core, the caucuses are party-building exercises.

But��new this year, unaffiliated voters will be able to vote in either the Republican or Democratic party primaries in June.

Why are the caucuses important?

In Colorado, political candidates can qualify for the ballot two different ways: collect signatures on petitions from registered members of their party, or win at least 30 percent of the vote of delegates at the state assemblies April 14.

The precinct meetings are the first step to selecting delegates, and the candidates that put their supporters in delegate spots have a better chance of reaching the threshold at the state assembly.

The caucus is particularly important for Democrats this year because the party will hold a preference poll for the governor’s race to apportion delegates to the county level.

Four top candidates are seeking support through the caucus: Noel Ginsburg, Mike Johnston, Cary Kennedy and Jared Polis. But Kennedy is the only candidate putting all her energy into the caucus. The others — including Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne — are also seeking to qualify by gathering petition signatures.

The Republican Party will not hold a statewide straw poll in the governor’s race, but individual counties and precincts may conduct one.

How are delegates selected?

The actual delegates are selected in different ways in each county and each political party. But in general, party activists will seek to become a delegate to represent their values and their precinct at the county assembly. Next, the delegates will campaign to advance to the congressional and state-level assemblies, where they will help decide which candidates make the ballot.

Those seeking delegate status often give short speeches to convince their fellow party members to support them, either by pledging to favor a particular candidate or stand for a particular issue. However, neither party binds their delegates to support a particular candidate.

The Republican Party will select 4,206 delegates. Five delegate slots are saved for party leaders. The Democratic Party will host 4,000 delegates at the state assembly.

How many people are expected to attend the caucus?

Given it����ap a nonpresidential election year, the turnout is expected to fall far below the 2016 caucus numbers.

The state Democratic Party is anticipating that its turnout tops 2014, when two incumbents topped the ticket and only 6,000 people attended caucus meetings. “With Democratic enthusiasm riding at a high level, I think we can expect more folks than in 2014,” said Eric Walker, a party spokesman.

Republicans expect about 6 to 7 percent of their members to attend, or roughly about 60,000 people. “I’m expecting a lower turnout than a presidential year, but I think we’ll still get a good turnout,” said party chairman Jeff Hays.

Where is my precinct location and what time should I get there?

Democrats can look up their locations .

Republicans can look up their caucus location .

The parties encourage members to arrive by 6:30 p.m. to register before the 7 p.m. start.

The Democrat is the first to return his petitions and secures a significant tactical advantage in a crowded party primary.

“We rolled up our sleeves and got to work for the people of Colorado,” said Johnston, a former state senator from Denver, in a campaign statement. “Each signature we gathered is the product of a meaningful connection between one of our dedicated volunteers and a real-life voter.”

To qualify for the ballot, candidates can take either of two approaches. The petition route requires statewide candidates to secure 10,500 signatures from registered party members — 1,500 in each of the state’s seven congressional districts. The caucus path requires candidates to collect supporters at party organization meetings who will vote for them at the state assembly.

Unlike most campaigns, Johnston didn’t hire an outside firm to collect signatures and instead relied on staff and volunteers. The extra signatures are designed to ensure he hits the mark needed to qualify for the ballot.

In the 2016 U.S. Senate race, the Republican candidates saw 30 to 40 percent of their voter signatures discarded because they didn’t match state records.

Being the first candidate also gives Johnston a strategic edge because a voter’s signature can only count once, so the first candidate to submit each gets credit.

The other prominent Democrats seeking to qualify through petitions — due by March 20 — include U.S. Rep. Jared Polis and Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne.

Former state Treasurer Cary Kennedy and Noel Ginsburg are pursuing the caucus route. Polis and Johnston may also participate in the caucuses, in addition to submitting signatures.

The financial records also showed that two new Republican competitors — Attorney General Cynthia Coffman and former Congressman — had trouble raising money at the start of their campaigns. Tancredo netted $75,000 in donations, and Coffman garnered about $85,000.

Both candidates trailed Republican rival Walker Stapleton, who collected about $750,000 in the last three months of 2017, a record for a single fundraising period in a governor’s race. The state treasurer, who donated another $250,000 from his own pocket, filed his report after the deadline and faces the threat of a minor fine.

On the Democratic side, U.S. Rep. Jared Polis of Boulder gave his campaign more than $750,000 — the most of any candidate in that primary — putting his personal investment at nearly $1.4 million.

Cary Kennedy, the former state treasurer, raised the highest total of individual contributions among Democrats at $277,000, but rival Mike Johnston, a former state senator, finished 2017 with the most in his campaign coffer, at $732,000.

The cash influx for Republicans and Democrats put the cost of the contest at more than $13 million through the end of 2017 — a down-payment on a gubernatorial election that����ap expected to break state records.

To offset Coffman’s meager haul, a new independent expenditure committee backing her candidacy called Stronger Colorado Ahead collected $158,000 in contributions in just six weeks.

Whiting Petroleum board chairman James Volker gave $100,000, making him the top donor, and Carol Mizel gave $25,000. She is the wife of Larry Mizel, one of Colorado’s top Republican financiers and a supporter of Stapleton.

An independent expenditure committee supporting Stapleton’s candidacy, Better Colorado Now, reported another $33,000, bringing its cash on hand to $738,000.

Two other committees, often referred to as super PACs, reported notable hauls. Build Colorado’s Future, which is supporting Doug Robinson, notched a $25,000 contribution from former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who is the candidate’s uncle.

Frontier Fairness, the super PAC supporting Johnston, reported a $100,000 donation from Eric Resnick and his wife. Resnick is the chief executive officer at KSL Capital, a private equity firm that is part-owner of 12 ski resorts.

To boost their campaign numbers, two other Democratic candidates, businessman Noel Ginsburg and Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne, contributed $190,000 and $60,000, respectively, to their campaigns at the end of the quarter.

Robinson loaned his campaign $243,000 on Christmas Eve after raising just $78,000 on his own.

Earlier this year, Republican Victor Mitchell, a businessman and former state lawmaker, gave his campaign $3 million, and his bank account is the biggest in the race, at $2.2 million.

Asked about the huge war chest, Mitchell adviser David Hill said he is waiting to spend “when voters are ready to tune in” to the race. “That day will come,” Hill wrote in an email.

How much money the candidates carry into 2018 will speak volumes about their ability to gather voter signatures to qualify for the ballot or turn out supporters to the March 6 caucus.

The spending reports from the final weeks of the year show that campaigns are adding staffers to build out field operations and spending big money on polling to gauge their positions in the race.

“As Democrats, we know victory in November begins with building grassroots support early,” Kennedy said in a statement. “Talking with my fellow Democrats, hearing their concerns and sharing my ideas will energize us to win.”

A big unknown is how the super PACs in the race will spend their money to help out their candidates. The independent expenditure committees can accept unlimited contributions, unlike the campaigns, which are capped at a total of $1,150 for the primary and general election. But the committees cannot coordinate their expenditures with the campaigns.

Big money flows in down-ballot races

The cash to candidates also is flowing in other statewide 2018 races.

In the state treasurer’s race, a new Republican candidate out-raised the rest of the field combined in the fourth quarter campaign finance reports, while a Democratic lawmaker’s fundraising dried up in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations.

In an early show of strength, Republican businessman Brian Watson raised $214,614.95 in his first fundraising period since joining the state treasurer’s race, including $18,203.55 he gave to his own campaign.

State Rep. Polly Lawrence, a Douglas County Republican, raised $55,989.75, bolstered by a $25,000 check from herself. No other Republican in the six-person primary raised more than $15,000 in the quarter.

On the Democratic side, the two latest entrants led the pack. State Rep. Dave Young, D-Greeley, raised $35,604.90, rolling over $963.11 from his House fundraising committee. Charles Quin Scheibe, Colorado’s chief financial officer, gave his campaign $29,185.85, which accounted for the bulk of the $30,723.99 he raised.

State Rep. Steve Lebsock raised $1,025, the least of any candidate. He reported receiving no donations since multiple women accused him of sexual harassment in November. The Thornton Democrat has denied the allegations.

In the attorney general’s race, Democrat Phil Weiser maintained his big fundraising lead last quarter in the six-candidate race.

Weiser, a former dean of the University of Colorado Law School, hauled in more than $280,000 and had about $900,000 cash on hand heading into 2018.

Republican George Brauchler, the 18th Judicial District attorney and only GOP candidate, reported raising a little more than $215,000 over the past four months — about $120,000 of which was rolled over from his abandoned gubernatorial campaign.

The four other Democrats running raised a good deal less: Brad Levin, a Denver attorney, raised about $64,000 and former prosecutor Amy Padden hauled in roughly $41,000. Michael Dougherty, a prosecutor for Jefferson and Gilpin counties, raised just about $19,000, and state Rep. Joe Salazar, D-Thornton, took in some $24,000.

In the secretary of state’s race, Democratic challenger Jena Griswold expanded her fundraising advantage to a nearly 2-to-1 margin in cash on hand against Republican incumbent Wayne Williams.

After raising nearly $58,400 in the final three months of 2017, Griswold, a Louisville attorney, ended the year with $114,538 in the bank. She spent about $21,200.

Williams, a Republican from Colorado Springs, reported raising nearly $12,900 during the fourth quarter, ending 2017 with $58,639 on hand. ��Williams’ campaign spent about $2,200.

Staff writers Brian Eason, Jon Murray and Jesse Paul contributed to this report.

Much of the attention will focus on the governor’s race, where new campaign rules and a crowded field of Democratic and Republican candidates will make it difficult to secure a spot on the June 26 primary ballot.

For Republicans, the petition push is the first since forged signatures and lawsuits stained the 2016 primary for U.S. Senate and derailed once-promising candidates. For Democrats, it����ap the first major statewide primary since 2010. And for all candidates, the decision about how to navigate the difficult path to the ballot represents the first test of strength as to whether they can win the primary and the all-important general election in November.

“We’re going to start collecting tomorrow,” said Democrat Noel Ginsburg of his campaign’s decision to begin its petition-gathering drive on the first day allowed by election officials.

In Colorado, statewide candidates for governor, attorney general, treasurer and secretary of state can qualify for their party primary ballot two different ways: by collecting voter signatures on a petition or gathering support through the caucus process.

Either approach is worthy of a reality TV show, and both are fraught with peril.

To petition, the candidates must collect 1,500 signatures from registered voters in their party in each of the state’s seven congressional districts within two months. Most often the process involves hiring collectors to stand outside populated places, such as grocery stores, and ask voters to sign a petition in support of a candidate.

But there’s a catch: A voter’s signature can only count once, so the first candidate to submit each gets credit, meaning speed matters in collecting petitions. In 2016, candidates who petitioned had 30 to 40 percent of their signatures disqualified.

The cost to collect petitions can run more than $200,000 — a huge sum in a race were the maximum contribution is a combined $1,150 per person for the primary and general elections.

But the caucus process has its own challenges.

To secure a ballot slot, a candidate must win 30 percent of the vote at the state party assembly, which limits the number of candidates who advance to a maximum of three. It all starts by winning delegates at the neighborhood-level caucus meetings March 6 — essentially a one-on-one retail politicking that favors candidates with die-hard supporters.

“When you do the math you just have to be ready,” said U.S. Rep. Jared Polis of Boulder, a Democratic candidate for governor. “Because you need to get your name on the ballot in order to win.”

How the candidates will try to make the ballot

If the candidate receives between 10 and 30 percent at the assembly, they can still use petitions to qualify for the ballot. But if they receive less than 10 percent, they are eliminated on the spot.

In 2017, Colorado lawmakers approved a major change that moved the petition-gathering period forward three weeks and put the deadline to return them at March 20. The date falls before the state party assemblies, meaning the candidates essentially have to pick one path or the other, unlike the past where candidates could more easily use the petition process as a backup option.

“This year, it’s a little convoluted,” said Craig Hughes, a top Democratic strategist advising several statewide candidates.

Polis is the one candidate seeking to pursue both avenues, and he is possibly the only candidate with the money and fan base to make it possible.

“I’m excited to be participating in the caucus process and we want to make sure we’re also ready to turn in petitions to ensure my name is on the ballot,” he said in an interview. “We’re participating in caucus, and we hope to get on the ballot through the caucus and assembly process — but at the end of the day we want to make sure that my name is on the ballot.”

Most of the other leading Democratic candidates are collecting voter signatures, worried that the crowded field will make it hard to reach the 30 percent threshold at assembly. The other candidates taking the petition route include Ginsburg, Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne and former state Sen. Mike Johnston. The campaigns for Lynne and Johnston are adding staff and contractors to do the job rather than hire a private firm, as is more customary. Johnston also said he is keeping his options open to potentially enter the assembly process at a later date.

Cary Kennedy, the former state treasurer, is the only prominent Democrat committing to the caucus. Her campaign said it shows her commitment to the party process, and taps into her statewide network.

On the Republican side, state Treasurer Walker Stapleton, investment banker Doug Robinson and businessman and former state Rep. Victor Mitchell are also collecting signatures.

“No matter who you are, it����ap never a guarantee you can get in,” said Brett Maney, a spokeswoman for Robinson, about��the risk of going the assembly path.

Only Tom Tancredo, a former congressman, two-time candidate for governor and favorite of conservative activists, has firmly committed to the assembly approach. Tancredo said the choice came down to the high cost of collecting petitions and the hope that an assembly win would give him a boost from the party faithful.

The GOP candidates’ decision reflects the direction of the party, said Dick Wadhams, a former party chairman. “It����ap an acknowledgment that the caucus-assembly process has moved right over the last several election cycles, and it����ap dominated by the more conservative wing of the party,” he said. “So if you aren’t tied to that part of the party … it����ap difficult to get on the ballot at the assembly.”

Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, a Republican, remains a wild card after entering the race late. Her campaign did not respond Monday to messages seeking comment.

2016 Senate race offers cautionary tale

The chaotic 2016 race for U.S. Senate on the Republican side illustrates the challenges ahead. Darryl Glenn, then a little-known El Paso County commissioner, gave a powerful speech at the state convention that shut out his rival, state Sen. Tim Neville.

The upset left Glenn as the only candidate to emerge from the convention, saving the cash-strapped candidate the time and cost of collecting voter signatures. Three of his challengers initially failed to qualify by petition and only landed on the ballot after filing lawsuits that corrected errors made in gathering signatures.��A signature gatherer for former state Rep. Jon Keyser, once a leading candidate, also pleaded guilty to forging voters’ names.

The setback cost Keyser, Robert Blaha and Ryan Frazier, and Glenn would go on that year to win the GOP primary, narrowing beating Jack Graham, the first candidate to submit petitions and the only one to do it successfully.

Ahead of the 2018 campaign, state lawmakers approved a new law that requires the secretary of state’s office to verify each signature with voting records.

Colorado’s debate over guns — forged over years of mass shootings and rekindled after the Oct. 1 — is set to play out during next year’s .

That’s particularly true among activists on both sides of the debate who during the primaries are poised to magnify even the smallest differences among Democratic and Republican candidates.

Taking center stage in this tug of war: a relitigation of the whose passage followed similar attacks in and , Conn.

In the four years since Colorado of expanding background checks to private sales and limiting the size of magazines to 15 rounds, there remains a deep divide over beliefs in their effectiveness — with state statistics and one recent study suggesting the efforts have had a limited impact.

Who or what is to blame for their efficacy is another point of contention. As are a number of��other gun-related issues, from proposed bans on the “” used in the Las Vegas shooting to a failed effort by Congress to outlaw dozens of assault weapons.

Where they stand on guns

The Denver Post sent a survey to candidates running for governor. Here are their answers.

“I don’t want to hear about support for the Second Amendment,” said Tony Fabian, president of the Colorado State Shooting Association. “We want to hear specifics. And one of those specifics we better hear (is) a repeal the 2013 gun control laws.”

Said , founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America:��“What is important to us is that the laws that are in place are upheld.”

The Denver Post conducted interviews with — and a survey of — nine candidates in the 2018 governor’s race. Among the four GOP candidates, there is little variation in how each would approach gun regulation — a homogeneity that makes the field’s split opinion over background checks stand out.

It����ap the same story in the similarly large Democratic field, though U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, is the closest thing to an outlier in either party. How the issue affects his candidacy could reveal the degree to which gun-control groups have gained influence on the left.

Universal background checks divide GOP

Every Democratic candidate said they support the requirement for background checks on all gun purchases in the state. But Republicans are divided over whether the legislature and Gov. John Hickenlooper went too far four years ago in mandating them for private sales.

Both and said they backed the expansive checks.

Robinson, a former investment banker and nephew to Mitt Romney said it helps keep guns “out of the hands of those that can do damage.”

Mitchell, a businessman and former state lawmaker, said that while he had doubts about universal background checks’ ability to stop mass shootings, he still was “generally supportive” of them as long as they are “done in a way that firearm owners can sell their firearms to other law-abiding citizens.”

By contrast, two GOP officeholders in the race — state Treasurer Walker Stapleton and 18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler — were against it, with Stapleton promising he would sign a repeal of the new background checks if given the chance as governor.

Said Brauchler: “I don’t think it����ap effective.”

In terms of raw numbers, Colorado authorities ran about 20,000 background checks on private sales last year, which state officials said included both deals between individuals and private exchanges at guns shows, the latter of which was��required before the 2013 expansion.

The checks prevented about 450 people in 2016 from buying guns during a private exchange, a subset of the roughly 8,700 denials of all attempted purchases in the state.

About 2.2 percent of the more than 20,000 private sales were denied, an amount nearly identical to the rejection rate of those trying to buy weapons through a dealer with a federal firearms license. In all, Colorado rejected about 8,700 sales out of about��389,000 attempts.

Most often it����ap for a criminal record. Last year, for both private and dealer sales, that included nearly 1,600 applicants with an assault conviction and another 150 applicants with a history of sexual assault. About 430 people with a restraining order were denied the ability to buy a gun.

Still, a rejection isn’t always valid. Last year, more than half of the 8,704 rejections were appealed. In 2,427 cases — or nearly 28 percent of the time — the decision was reversed, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

Even so, gun-control activists and the field of Democratic candidates said it����ap a fair tradeoff.

Universal background checks are “keeping us all safe,” said Cary Kennedy, a former state treasurer and one of the Democrats running for governor.

One recent study, however, has raised questions about its efficacy.

A joint investigation by the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California-Davis and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health that researchers had expected when the state expanded the checks to private sales.

The findings in the Oct. 6 paper were part of a broader examination of the impact of comprehensive background checks in Delaware, Colorado and Washington. Rates increased noticeably in Delaware but not in Colorado and Washington, and one theory was a lack of compliance and enforcement in the latter two states.

“Many county law enforcement officials in Colorado reportedly stated they would not enforce its CBC law, and some retailers were declining to process background checks for private-party transfers,” wrote the authors.

But the authors acknowledged they did not have information “beyond anecdote about compliance with and enforcement of the law in those states.”

After the Colorado legislature put in place new rules for background checks and the size of magazines, most of the state’s county sheriffs .

“These bills do nothing to make Colorado a safer place to live, to work, to play, to raise a family,” Weld County Sheriff John Cooke said at the time.

Since July 2013, Colorado authorities have filed 57 charges for violations of background-check rules, according to the Colorado District Attorneys Council. There have been nine convictions.

A sliver of difference between Polis, other Dems��

The division among Democrats is largely between Polis and the rest of the field, though like the Republican slate, the candidates agree more than they disagree.

One distinction��is on the issue of Colorado’s 2013 ban on magazines larger than 15 rounds.

Democrats in the statehouse led the push that year to restrict larger magazines in response to the Aurora and Newtown shootings.

was in the state Senate at the time and voted for the legislation. If elected governor, he said, he would advocate for its implementation on a national level.

Colorado should be a “lighthouse for the rest of the country,” Johnston said of expanded background checks and the magazine-size limits.

Several of his Democratic rivals gave their unequivocal support to the measure, notably Kennedy, Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne and businessman Noel Ginsburg.

Polis said simply that he wouldn’t repeal it.

Opponents of large-capacity magazines said bans on their use could save lives in mass shootings because it would force assailants to reload more often — giving victims precious seconds to escape. Even if criminals still can get them illegally, they argue, taking them out of stores makes it harder.

But critics of the change, including the Colorado sheriffs who fought the law, said enforcement remains a challenge because it����ap legal to own and use large magazines purchased before the 15-round limit went into effect.

Colorado authorities have filed charges less than 60 times for violations of the magazine limit. There have been two convictions in the last four years.

The Republican candidates don’t like it, and Brauchler, who prosecuted the Aurora theater shooter, said he wouldn’t consider enforcement a priority in some cases.

A violation of the 15-round rule is “a tool I would consider using for bad guys” accused of several charges, said the district attorney. But it����ap “not one I would pursue aggressively against the good guys. And by good guys, I mean law-abiding citizens who that����ap their only violation.”

A 2015 poll done by Magellan Strategies found the issue split cleanly along party lines, with most Republicans supporting a repeal of 15-round limit and most Democrats opposed. Independents were split almost evenly too, with slight support for repeal of the limit.

Among Democrats, another division is their opinion of the Assault Weapons Ban that U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced in 2013.

The measure would have banned dozens of weapons and other large ammunition-feeding devices, but it failed by a 40-60 Senate vote — with Colorado Democrats Mark Udall and Michael Bennet both in opposition.

Polis was , saying it could interfere with recreation and “make it harder for Colorado families to defend themselves.”

Asked whether he would support a similar measure in Colorado, Polis did not provide a yes or no answer. “We shouldn’t ban guns that are popular among hunters and sportsmen, but weapons of war are too dangerous and serve no legitimate sporting purpose,” he wrote.

Ginsburg, Johnston, Kennedy and Lynne all said yes.

Eileen McCarron, of the gun-control group Colorado Ceasefire, said she’s seen a shift among state Democrats on the issue, brought on by the changing demographics of the state and the mass shootings in Aurora and Newtown.

“Those two events were crystallizing for a lot of people in the state,” she said.

Democrats

One idea Noel Ginsburg has to reduce gun violence is to create a safety program similar to what Colorado has in place for motorcycle riders.

To operate a motorcycle legally in the state, bikers must pass a test or attend a safety course.

Ginsburg said he opted for the class when he got his motorcycle endorsement and that its warnings about red lights and stop signs “saved my life a number of years later” when a car blew through one while he was riding his bike.

In the same vein, Ginsburg suggested some kind of safety certification program for gun owners — although he admitted he still was working on the details. (Proof of training is required to obtain a concealed weapon permit in Colorado, but it isn’t mandatory for typical gun owners.)

As with most of the Democrats in the field, Ginsburg supports Colorado’s 15-round limit on magazines and �� which increase the rate of fire for semi-automatic weapons and were found on the guns of the Las Vegas shooter.

But he said his work with at-risk children has taught him that investments in childhood services often can be the best antidote to violence — mass shootings or otherwise.

“Kids do horrible things when they have no hope,” he said.

Former state Sen. Mike Johnston knows better than most the in Colorado.

He co-sponsored the bill that expanded background checks to include private gun sales, and he voted in favor of the measure that imposed a 15-round limit on magazines — both of which were signed into law by Gov. John Hickenlooper.

“Here in Colorado, we actually took action,” Johnston said. “We knew it was going to be controversial. We knew folks were going to fight it.”

But he said both measures can have an impact on gun violence, one by deterring criminals from buying guns and the other by making mass shootings harder to commit with the use of legally purchased magazines.

“It����ap not a lot, but it gives you three, four, five seconds to get away,” Johnston said of the potential reload time.

He argues the restrictions do not infringe on the 2nd Amendment and that Congress should follow Colorado’s lead. “I think those are common-sense,” he added.

But as a longtime gun owner, Johnston said it����ap still incumbent on lawmakers to validate “some of the values” of 2nd Amendment advocates when they consider changes to gun regulations.

“I do believe in the right to self-defense,” he said. “I do believe that if someone breaks into your house, you ought to be able to shoot them.”

When Cary Kennedy talks about guns, one statistic she highlights is the number of Colorado children who require trips to the hospital because of firearms.

“Every four to five days, a child is brought to an emergency room in Colorado with a gunshot wound,” she said.

A recent study from Children’s Hospital Colorado confirms the figure: In 2014 and 2015, a total of 148 children under the age of 15 were admitted to hospitals across the state for gunshot wounds — a rate of one every 4.9 days.

Nearly all were accidental, and a campaign aide said one of Kennedy’s goals is “to raise awareness about keeping guns out of the reach of children” — although she wasn’t specific as to what she would do.

More generally, her platform on gun policy is consistent with much of the rest of the Democratic field. She would support a state ban on bump stocks and oppose efforts to make it easier to buy suppressors, often called “silencers.”

“Many lives are saved because people know when to take cover after hearing gunshots,” Kennedy wrote in response to a candidate survey by The Post.

There has been some debate since Las Vegas about whether more lives would have been had used a suppressor, a theory offered by Hillary Clinton and echoed by Kennedy.

Analysis by Politifact found that a suppressor would have made little difference , although the device could worsen other kinds of mass shootings.

Nearly every candidate running for governor says dealing with mental health is a critical factor in deterring gun violence.

The difference with Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne is that the already is working toward that goal.

She oversees a state program that seeks to better connect primary care doctors with their counterparts in behavioral health. The idea is to reduce the number of mentally ill patients who slip through the cracks.

“If you have a behavioral health problem, you don’t often wake up and say, ‘Hey, I think I’ll just make an appointment with a psychologist,’” Lynne said. But those patients still will often see their primary care doctors, she added.

So Colorado is trying to make it easier for the two branches of medicine to communicate, either by putting them near one another or by establishing online communications.

“What we’re trying to do … is integrate primary care and behavioral health, so they’re not two separate streams of treatment,” she said.

Funding for this effort comes from a $65 million federal grant that Colorado landed before Lynne joined the Hickenlooper administration.

But Lynne said her office is in charge of executing the program and that she would “amplify and expand” it if she were elected governor.

More broadly, Lynne has been outspoken in her support of several gun-control measures, such as limits on magazine sizes or prohibitions on military-style weapons.

Of the top-tier Democrats in the race, U.S. Rep. Jared Polis is the least enthusiastic about new gun regulations, although he still hews closer to them than most Republicans.

The Boulder lawmaker had doubts about a 2013 federal bill that sought to ban dozens of military-style firearms — saying at the time that it would “make it harder for Colorado families to defend themselves” — and he has supported legislation that would make it easier for consumers to buy firearms across state lines.

The approach fits with Polis’ more libertarian views — he once sponsored a bill that would restore gun ownership rights to people convicted of marijuana offenses.

Asked whether he supports Colorado’s 2013 limit on magazine sizes, Polis would not answer directly and instead said: “I’ve never shown any desire to repeal that.”

There are areas, however, where Polis said he’d like to see more regulation.

He joined a bipartisan bill this month that would outlaw bump stock devices used by — although his measure would impose less prison time than a rival bill backed by fellow congressional Democrats from Colorado, Diana DeGette and Ed Perlmutter.

He also called for tougher laws to “keep guns out of the hands of domestic violence offenders.”

Polis, a self-described “big supporter” of universal background checks, decried the general lack of compromise on gun issues generally.

“There is a false dichotomy that too many politicians on both sides use for self-serving reasons,” Polis said. “I think it����ap entirely consistent to protect and expand our personal freedoms and also increase gun safety.”

Republicans

As the district attorney who prosecuted the , George Brauchler saw firsthand the devastation a mass shooting can cause.

“Nobody knows that case like I know that case,” Brauchler said of his for killer James Holmes.

The effort ultimately failed — a jury opted for life imprisonment instead — and some critics have questioned whether Brauchler took that route for publicity’s sake when a plea bargain from the defense was on the table.

He long has denied that accusation, arguing that death was the right sentence for Holmes, and Brauchler said recently that the experience only has hardened his belief that gun control measures don’t deter mass shootings.

“(Limiting) magazine capacity wouldn’t have changed a single thing in that case,” Brauchler said.

While he acknowledged that Holmes’ rampage “started with a 100-round drum,” Brauchler argued that a 15-round magazine limit like the one Colorado passed in 2013 would have had a minimal impact on the Aurora shooting because Holmes would have just reloaded.

“All told, he brought 700 rounds of ammunition in that theater,” Brauchler said.

The district attorney also questioned the efficacy of background checks, as Holmes “went through background checks each of the four times he purchased those guns” for the massacre.

He added: “I cannot envision a constitutional law that would have prevented that mass murder. I cannot think of one.”

Instead, Brauchler has advocated a more expansive approach to gun use.

As with many of the , Brauchler wants to make it easier for gun owners to buy suppressors and he believes that lawful gun owners should be allowed to carry concealed firearms without a permit.

To deter mass shootings or other violence, Victor Mitchell wants more people to carry firearms in more places while strengthening penalties for gun misuse.

He called for an elimination of what he described as “gun-free zones” and said Colorado school districts should have the whether trained teachers can carry firearms into the classroom.

“You would signal to every person in that community that these schools are no longer soft targets,” Mitchell said of districts that took that step.

Asked about the potential for accidents, he predicted the risk would be “extremely low” because educators would get the proper training beforehand.

As a way to encourage responsible gun use, Mitchell said he was “generally supportive” of universal background checks and that he’d like to see the prison sentence double for any crime committed with a gun.

“We should make it very clear that if you commit any kind of a crime with a firearm, you are going to jail for a very long time,” Mitchell said.

In his own life, he said his family used to keep a handgun in the home but that they sold it last year for safety reasons.

“For our family, it was the right thing to do,” Mitchell said.

Doug Robinson said his outlook on gun policy comes from a career in business.

“If things work, we should probably do it,” said the former investment banker.

As he sees it, that means Colorado should keep its policy of universal background checks. “We all want to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and those that have mental illness,” he said.

Conversely, he added, Colorado should reconsider the decision to limit magazines to 15 rounds: “I just haven’t seen that they are effective.”

As for the bump stocks used by the Las Vegas shooter, Robinson said he’s still making up his mind about whether it����ap the right policy to ban them.

“I don’t know yet. I want to learn more about that. I think that����ap a healthy debate,” Robinson said.

The views put Robinson to the left of some of Republican rivals, although he was quick to emphasize his overall support of the 2nd Amendment.

“Responsible gun use is something that has been part of Colorado life since the very beginning,” he said.

Robinson said another way to deal with gun violence is to address other social trends, including drug use.

“We have had a decline in family life in America and a decline of church attendance and a decline of people involved in community and other activities,” Robinson said.

As state treasurer, Walker Stapleton doesn’t deal much with guns. Nor has the 2nd Amendment been a major rallying point of his establishment-aligned campaign.

But Stapleton’s approach to guns mirrors that of Republican rival George Brauchler on at least one important point — both oppose the that expanded background checks to include private sales.

“I would sign it. I would absolutely sign it,” said Stapleton when asked whether he would back a bill repealing the law.

“I believe prior to 2013 we had a system of background checks that was working,” Stapleton said. He did not elaborate on why that process was more effective.

Before Colorado changed the law, background checks were conducted for sales at stores or guns shows, but not private exchanges.

Last year, Colorado conducted about 20,000 background checks on private sales both inside and outside gun shows. About 450 were denied.

Stapleton’s solution to gun violence was to focus more on mental health.

“One of the things that I would be in favor of as governor is spending a greater amount of resources than we currently spend on mental health,” Stapleton said.

He did not provide details on where he would allocate the money, other than to say that he would support the creation of a mental health task force.

Where they stand on guns

The Denver Post sent a survey to candidates running for governor. Here are their answers.