Colo. Elections: Big, Big Money Is At Stake, And It's Only June

By Sandra Fish. Two things stand out in recent money-in-politics filings, which campaigns were required to report this week.

First: Sure, big money is being spent by Democratic Congressman Jared Polis, but also by other statewide candidates.

Second: The oil-and-gas industry is amassing a war chest to pass one ballot measure and fight another.
Here’s a breakdown.

The candidates:
Polis has now spent $10.5 million of his own money on his quest to be Colorado’s next governor
His donations to his own campaign already surpass the combined fundraising of term-limited Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper and his GOP opponent in 2014 (they spent $8.3 million). He’s close to the $10.9 million spent by all gubernatorial candidates in the 2014 cycle.

And it’s likely that before the primary is over, he’ll surpass the $11.4 million spent by outside groups in the 2014 general election.

Of course, when you combine Polis’ spending with that of Republican Victor Mitchell, who has loaned his campaign $3.9 million (that he’ll never get back), the two have already surpassed such full-cycle landmarks before the primary.

Other candidates for governor and statewide offices are also spending their own cash, too.

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Image via Jenny Fisher/Patch