It’s time to take another look at where gubernatorial donors are coming from— in terms of geography at least.
We examined this topic last month, and let’s acknowledge there’s some skew here because candidates are spending so much of their own money.
That self-funding comes from loans and also direct contributions. For this analysis, as for last month’s, we’re just looking at direct contributions. Loans aren’t included
First, a look at total candidate fundraising and the proportion that came from Colorado:
Again, virtually all of Democratic Congressman Jared Polis’ money came from Colorado because virtually all of it came from Polis. That data point made for a contentious moment in the final Democratic debate when questions arose about whether he was buying the election. When it comes to contributions from others, he has limited it to accepting only $100 per person, and he said he wouldn’t have had to spend so much money if Johnston wasn’t getting so much help from out of state. (Polis is one of the few Colorado self-funders to win office by spending big in the past.)
It’s also worth noting that of GOP Treasurer Walker Stapleton’s Colorado cash, nearly half ($837,000) came from his own pocket.
As with last month’s analysis, Democratic former state Sen. Michael Johnston received the lowest proportion of his money from Colorado donors – less than 50 percent, in fact.
Here’s a look at the breakdowns for each candidate. (“Other” indicates smaller contributions from multiple states.)
Democratic former state Sen. Michael Johnston:
Democratic former state Treasurer Cary Kennedy
Democratic Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne
Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Polis
Republican former Parker Mayor Greg Lopez
Republican businessman and former state Rep. Victor Mitchell
Republican businessman Doug Robinson
Republican State Treasurer Walker Stapleton
Then there are the super PACs, also known as independent expenditure committees. These groups can accept unlimited donations and spend unlimited amounts in support of a candidate, with the caveat that they don’t coordinate with that candidate.
The top fundraiser, Frontier Fairness, received $2 million from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and another $1 million from LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. It received only 18 percent of its funding from Colorado. The group has been airing ads and sending mailers supporting Johnston.
About 52 percent of Teachers for Kennedy’s funding through June 13 came from teachers unions, while groups supporting Democratic women also support the PAC. It is airing ads and sending mailers supporting Kennedy and opposing Polis and Johnston.
Better Colorado Now, funded by a variety of prominent Colorado business people, received about 72 percent of its funding from Colorado as it supports Stapleton’s bid for the GOP nomination. About 66 percent of Bold Colorado’s money came from the Gay & Lesbian Fund, a nonprofit based in Washington. That group is supporting Polis and opposing Kennedy.
Finally, Build Colorado’s Future supported Robinson’s effort, with 90 percent of the money coming from Colorado (and an early $25,000 from the candidate’s uncle, former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney in Utah). Other major donors include energy interests.
Here’s a look at how much those groups raised through June 13, and how much came from Colorado.
