Colorado political spending hits new record high less than three weeks before Election Day

Political spending in Colorado races already has hit a record this cycle with more than two weeks still remaining before all ballots are cast. Statewide, candidates, political action committees and groups pushing ballot measures have pulled in $186 million since December, according to a Denver Post analysis of campaign finance reports. The previous record was the nearly $154 million collected in the 2014 election cycle. At the federal level, the 6th Congressional District race is one of the most expensive races in the nation, according to data compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. A key reason behind the new state-level record is the oil and gas money that’s pouring into efforts to defeat a ballot measure that would impose much bigger setbacks for new wells. The industry’s political action committee, Protect Colorado, has spent $29.5 million so far this cycle. Another factor is Colorado’s open race for governor. Democratic candidate Jared Polis has raised $22.2 million so far — most of it his own money — in his campaign against Republican Walker Stapleton. That amount alone eclipses what both major-party gubernatorial candidates have spent in past cycles. In 2014, Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper’s campaign spent $5.4 million on his… Read full this story

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