Lauren Boebert’s big fundraising advantage over her Republican primary opponents is another sign of her dominance

---

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert vastly outraised her five Republican opponents in the 4th Congressional District in the two months leading up to the June 25 primary while spending heavily on TV and mailers to reach voters, campaign finance reports filed Thursday reveal.

The $334,000 Boebert raised from April 1 to June 5 lagged the $624,000 she raised during the lead up to the primary in 2022. But the money was still enough to eclipse the $178,000 brought in by her five GOP competitors combined this year, according to Federal Election Commission reports.

The reports, the last ones before the primary, are another indication that Boebert is likely to dominate on June 25. Her Republican opponents have failed to gain financial and political traction in the race, and there is little time to reverse that trend with Coloradans already casting ballots. 

“Despite being the target of daily attacks from five other candidates, we have the resources to make a strong final push towards a hard-earned victory on June 25,” Drew Sexton, Boebert’s campaign manager, said in a written statement. 

The outcome of the 4th District primary will likely determine who wins in November, too, given how favorable the district is to the GOP. 

Boebert currently represents the 3rd Congressional District, based on the western half of Colorado. She switched her reelection bid late last year to the 4th District, which is on the eastern side of the state, to improve her chances of securing another term in Congress after Republican U.S. Rep. Ken Buck announced in November that he was retiring. 

The congresswoman won her 3rd District reelection bid in 2022 by just 546 votes.

Boebert significantly outspent her opponents on voter outreach from April 1 to June 5 at more than $632,000, including $390,000 on TV ads and mailers. The amount Boebert spent on ads alone was more than the $387,000 spent combined by the five other Republican candidates in the race.

And Boebert still had more than $681,000 in cash in her campaign’s bank account on June 5. 

Here’s a look at how much money Boebert’s opponents raised and spent from April 1 to June 5:

• Deborah Flora, a conservative commentator, raised $70,000 during the most recent reporting period — the highest amount among Boebert’s opponents — and spent $119,000, mostly on campaign consulting. She entered the final weeks before Election Day with $118,000 in her campaign’s account.
• State Rep. Mike Lynch raised $54,000 and had $3,700 in cash left in his campaign’s account after spending $53,000 on TV advertising.
• Logan County Commissioner Jerry Sonnenberg, a former state senator, raised $44,000 and spent $176,000, mostly on advertising and consulting. He had $92,000 left in the bank.
• State Rep. Richard Holtorf raised $10,000 and spent $37,000, mostly on digital advertising. The campaign had $71,000 in cash. 
• Businessman Peter Yu raised only $225 and spent only $2,200, but had $272,000 in cash left in the final weeks of the primary campaign. That was more than enough to repay the $250,000 in personal funds he loaned to his campaign.

The 4th District’s population is centered in Douglas County and Loveland, but includes the entire Eastern Plains. It’s the safest Republican district of Colorado’s eight U.S. House seats. Buck won his last two elections by a whopping 23 percentage points. 

Three Democrats are vying to challenge the winner of the Republican primary in the 4th District. All of them are using Boebert’s candidacy — and the national Democratic frustration with the congresswoman — as a way to raise big sums despite their slim odds in November. 

Here’s what they raised and spent from April 1 to June 5:

• Veteran Ike McCorkle, who lost to Buck in the last two cycles, raised nearly $465,000, spent $459,000 and had $163,000 in cash on June 5. 
• Trisha Calvarese, a former speechwriter and Democratic congressional staffer, raised nearly $99,000, spent about $80,000 and had $53,000 in cash. She owed $51,000 to consultants.
• Engineer and addiction recovery advocate John Padora raised $56,000, spent $62,000 and had $42,000 on June 5.

National Republican and Democratic groups are thus far ignoring the contest because it’s presumed that the GOP nominee will win in November. 

Also on June 25, voters in the 4th District will cast ballots in a special election to determine who serves out the rest of Buck’s term — which ends in early January — after he resigned in March. 

Calvarese is running in that race against former Parker mayor Greg Lopez, a Republican, and two third-party candidates. 

Lopez raised $40,000 and spent $26,000 from April 1 through June 5. 

National partisan groups have totally ignored the special election in yet another indication that Republicans are expected to hold the seat. 

Dave Williams continues to trail Jeff Crank in 5th Congressional District fundraising

Conservative commentator and activist Jeff Crank outraised Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams in the 5th Congressional District Republican primary, with $208,000 to Williams’ $70,000 between April 1 and June 5. 

Crank spent nearly $157,000 on broadcast media — which likely includes TV, streaming and radio ads — compared with the $27,000 spent by Williams.

The two are competing for the Republican nomination for the seat held by longtime U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Republican from Colorado Springs, who is retiring. The winner of the primary is expected to win in November, too, given how favorable the district is to Republicans.

Some notable line items from the campaign finance reports filed by Crank and Williams: 

• Crank received $10,000 in late May from Project West PAC, which is run by former U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, a Republican from Yuma.
• Williams repaid $40,000 of a $100,000 loan he made to his campaign earlier this year. But he still owes himself $158,000, much of it outstanding loans he made to his unsuccessful 2022 primary challenge of Lamborn. His campaign received $18,500 in donations from political action committees, including Conservative Leadership PAC and the National Association of Gun Rights PAC.

The candidates’ spending, however, has been way overshadowed by super PACs. 

Some $2.3 million has been spent by super PACs to defeat Williams, including by Americans for Prosperity Action, America Leads Action and Conservatives for American Excellence. All three are Republican super PACs. 

Walmart heir and Denver Broncos co-owner Rob Walton and conservative entrepreneur Jay Faison have been the biggest donors to America Leads Action, while hedge fund billionaires Kenneth Griffin and Paul Singer are the top donors to Conservatives for American Excellence.  Americans for Prosperity Action’s funders include Koch Industries and members of the family who owns Walmart.

Williams has countered the political action committee spending to defeat him by using the Colorado GOP’s campaign funds to send several mailers to El Paso County voters urging them to support him. The tactic has drawn fierce criticism from other Republicans and is the subject of an FEC complaint.

Two Democrats are competing in the June 25 primary for their party’s nomination in the 5th District. 

Science educator River Gassen raised $20,000 between April 1 and June 5, and veteran Joe Reagan raised $19,000. Welcome PAC, a super PAC supporting moderate Democrats, has spent $19,000 on digital ads and mailers for Reagan.

Those amounts, and the lack of Democratic group spending in the 5th District, are big indications that both political parties expect Republicans to continue their firm grasp on the seat.  

Adam Frisch reserves $2.4 million in TV time for fall in the 3rd Congressional District

The winner of the six-way Republican primary in the 3rd Congressional District will face Democrat Adam Frisch, the former Aspen city councilman who narrowly lost to Boebert in the district in 2022. He’s running unopposed in the Democratic primary in the 3rd District, which spans across the Western Slope into Pueblo and southeastern Colorado.

The Democrat topped all Colorado congressional candidates in fundraising between April 1 and June 5 by hauling in $1 million. The campaign spent more than $2.4 million reserving TV ad time for the fall and had about $3.8 million in the bank as of June 5.

Only two of the six Republicans running in the 3rd District primary had more than $50,000 in cash on June 5. 

Grand Junction attorney Jeff Hurd had more than $219,000 left, after raising $151,000 between April 1 and June 5 and spending $459,000, including nearly $200,000 on advertising.

Colorado Board of Education member Stephen Varela of Pueblo outraised Hurd during the period, hauling in nearly $194,000. He spent $116,000 and had $100,000 in cash left.

The other four Republican primary candidates in the 3rd District —Carbondale investor Russ Andrews, retired Durango businessman Lew Webb, former state Rep. Ron Hanks and Delta County businessman Curtis McCrackin — raised between $10,000 and $56,000 from April 1 to June 5.

The headline about spending in the 3rd District recently is that the Democratic super PAC Rocky Mountain Values has dropped $366,000 to boost Hanks’ profile and attack Hurd. The group has also spent $255,000 on ads in the district featuring Donald Trump, highlighting Hanks’ allegiance to the former president.

The spending appears to be happening because the group believes Hanks, an election conspiracy theorist, will be easier for Frisch to beat in November than Hurd, who has the backing of Colorado’s Republican establishment.

The super PAC received $500,000 in late April from national nonprofit Sixteen Thirty Fund, which doesn’t disclose its donors, and another $112,000 from the super PAC Real Leadership for Colorado, which has received money from several individual donors from Colorado and other states. That includes $50,000 each from the late Mary Ann Stein, a Maryland philanthropist who gave to progressive causes; Aspen investor Adam Lewis; and venture philanthropist Laura Lauder of New York.  

Our American Century super PAC has spent $185,000 to support Webb and oppose Hurd in the Republican primary. Americans for Prosperity Action has spent $333,000 supporting Hurd. American Century received its money from thus far from an nvestment fund whose donors are unclear.

Money in the toss-up 8th Congressional District

U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo, a Thornton Democrat running for reelection in the toss-up 8th Congressional District, had the second largest fundraising haul between April 1 and June 5 of any Colorado congressional candidate. She raised $563,000 during that stretch, leaving her with $2.3 million in campaign cash on June 5.

She will face one of two Republicans: state Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Fort Lupton, or former state Rep. Janak Joshi, who moved to Thornton from Colorado Springs earlier this year. 

Evans raised $121,000, spent $236,000 mostly on advertising and mailers, and had $225,000 in cash. Joshi raised $64,000, spent $98,000 on TV and radio ads and had $83,000 in cash.

Americans for Prosperity Action has spent $307,000 supporting Evans in the June 25 GOP primary.

More on the congressional fundraising and spending from April 1 to June 5

Here’s a list of all the congressional candidates running in Colorado this year and how much money they raised and spent from April 1 to June 5:

Colorado Sun staff writer Jesse Paul contributed to this report.

Type of Story: News

Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.