State-Wide Colorado Campaigns: How the Financials Stack Up
October 26, 2010
Final campaign financials leading up to this year’s elections in Colorado were posted earlier this month:
While Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Buck has raised a total of $3.4 million during his campaign, $4,800 of which has come out of his own pocket, Democratic incumbent U.S. Senator Michael Bennet has raised a total of $10.4 million, $3,600 of which has come out of his own pocket. Both candidates have taken out loans: Ken Buck for $100,000 and Michael Bennet for $300,000.
A look at types of contributions donated to each candidate reveals about 86% of Buck’s total receipts and 76% of Bennet’s total receipts have come from individual contributors. Contributors via political action committees (PACs) comprise a little over 10% of Buck’s total receipts and less than 6% of Bennet’s. A significant difference is evident in the amounts of contributions received by the two candidates from Party Committees: $42,600 by Buck’s campaign versus only $2,600 by Bennet’s.
In the Colorado gubernatorial race, Democratic candidate and Denver mayor John Hickenlooper reports total contributions to-date of $3.6 million; Republican candidate Dan Maes reports total contributions of $304,000; and Independent candidate Tom Tancredo reports total contributions of $680,000.Look for Imagine A Great Election’s analysis of the impact of big money on these Colorado races after the election.