The Colorado GOP spent nearly $20,000 in late May to help party Chairman Dave Williams in his 5th District Congressional campaign.
That represented the largest single expense of the nearly $90,000 the party spent last month, according to a Federal Election Commission filing late Thursday. The party raised about $56,000 in May and began June with about $550,000 in the bank.
Williams has faced intense criticism for using party resources to benefit his congressional bid as he faces conservative commentator and activist Jeff Crank in the 5th District Republican primary June 25. Earlier this week, in an interview with 9News, Williams denied using party money on his campaign.
“There’s been no direct spending from the party for myself,” he said.
But the FEC report filed by the Colorado GOP late Thursday refutes that claim. It discloses $19,445.29 spent by the party in support of Williams’ congressional campaign. No other candidates directly benefited from party spending last month, according to the FEC report.
The Colorado GOP sent a mailer in late May promoting Williams and his endorsement from former President Donald Trump. The FEC report says the money spent by the party to support Williams’ congressional campaign was spent on May 28, the same day The Sun received a copy of the mailer. (The report does not say what the money was spent on, just that it was spent to support Williams.)
The party sent two more mailers in early June promoting Williams and attacking Crank. The Colorado GOP’s June spending won’t be revealed until late July.
Williams didn’t respond to Colorado Sun requests for comment. A spokesman for Williams’ congressional campaign referred questions about the spending to Colorado GOP Treasurer Tom Bjorklund.
“The party isn’t out any money and our balance sheets and subsequent disclosure filings will show a net positive for Colorado Republicans,” Bjorklund said in a text message.
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Read moreBut Bjorklund declined to explain how that could be. He also refused to answer questions about whether Williams’ campaign plans to reimburse the party. Instead, he called The Sun “fake news.”
Williams has not reported giving any money to the Colorado GOP since announcing his campaign in the 5th District, except for $1,000 for an ad in the party’s newspaper in late May. His campaign’s next FEC report isn’t due until July 15 for spending between June 6 and June 30.
Super PACs have spent nearly $2.5 million to help Crank beat Williams in the Republican primary in the 5th District, mostly by running attack ads targeting Williams. Williams, meanwhile, has only received a few thousand dollars in help from super PACs, FEC filings show.
The winner of the primary in the 5th District, which is based in Colorado Springs, will likely win in November, too, given the district’s strong Republican lean. The district is currently represented by longtime Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, who is retiring at the end of his term.
More from the Colorado GOP’s campaign finance report
The Colorado GOP’s largest contributions in May were nearly $17,000 from the Douglas County Republican Central Committee and nearly $5,000 from the Weld County Republican Central Committee.
The party’s donations included $2,350 from four candidates endorsed by the party, including $1,000 from former state Rep. Ron Hanks, who is running in the six-way GOP primary in the 3rd Congressional District.
The GOP paid Bjorklund’s consulting firm $11,750 in May, and Williams’ firm $8,000. It also sent a $10,000 donation to the Claremont Institute in California, which employs attorney and election denier John Eastman, who was representing the party in a federal lawsuit seeking to block unaffiliated voters from casting ballots in Republican primaries. He withdrew from his role in the case last month.
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A California judge recommended Eastman be disbarred for his actions of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election to keep Trump in office.
Colorado Democrats reported raising $113,000 in May while spending $102,000. The party ended the month with $384,000 in cash. The Democratic National Committee was responsible for much of that fundraising, as well as Democratic candidates paying the party for voter lists.
The Colorado GOP paid for a mailer sent this week to voters in the 8th Congressional District promoting former state Rep. Janak Joshi and attacking state Rep. Gabe Evans in the Republican primary there.
Joshi is among the candidates endorsed by the Colorado GOP.
The mailer paints Evans as disloyal to Trump and weak on tax policy and abortion.
Evans is the preferred choice of national Republicans to take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo in November in the highly competitive district.
Colorado Sun reporter Jesse Paul contributed to this report.