None of the remaining Democrats in Colorado’s U.S. Senate primary have come close to raising the totals former Gov. John Hickenlooper hauled in during his first five weeks in the campaign.
The field also trails Republican Sen. Cory Gardner, who is seen as a vulnerable incumbent.
The campaign of former State House Speaker Andrew Romanoff told CPR he brought in a little over $500,000, well shy of Hickenlooper’s $2.1M. Campaign finance records for his campaign have not yet been posted by the Federal Election Commission. Democratic state Sen. Angela Williams raised $108,293. The five remaining female candidates have never held elected office before and raised smaller amounts in the most recent quarter.
- Stephany Rose Spaulding: $41,327
- Michelle FerrignoWarren: $40,839
- Trish Zornio: $16,384
- Lorena Garcia: $12,008
- Diana Bray: $6,514
The former governor's influence has shown as the field has significantly narrowed. Political veterans Alice Madden and Mike Johnston have bowed out. Former U.S. Attorney John Walsh suspended his campaign in September. And Dan Baer, a former ambassador under the Obama administration also called it quits.
But some of the remaining candidates say they are not going anywhere.
“It’s an interesting landscape,” said Williams of the field winnowing. “We feel good about our efforts. We believe I’m the leading female fundraiser in the race. We know we’ve got to continue to stay focused and show our growth.”
When former presidential candidate Hickenlooper entered the competitive Senate race, Williams signaled in a statement that, “This won’t be a coronation.” She also signed a letter with five other women in the primary to complain to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee about its swift endorsement of Hickenlooper.
And Romanoff said his fundraising amount in total, $1.4 million over the course of the campaign, was especially impressive given how little national help he had compared to Hickenlooper.
“Well, we’ve got three quarters to go and we’re trailing by a single touchdown (21-14). Pretty good when you consider everything Chuck Schumer and the Washington crowd are doing to boost the other team,” Romanoff said.
