Democrats Cary Kennedy and Mike Johnston both announced big hauls on Thursday following the latest fundraising round in their campaigns for governor.
Kennedy raised more than $800,000 — the most so far raised by a candidate in a quarter — and Johnston brought in more than $600,000 to push his campaign total past $2 million.
Kennedy's spokesperson, Serena Woods, said Kennedy's total surpasses State Treasurer Walker Stapleton's $750,000 quarterly haul record during the previous filing period. Kennedy's overall campaign total wasn't immediately available, but online filing records show she reported getting $276,695.95 in total monetary contributions during the previous filing period in January.
The fundraising total could provide a boost for Johnston, who finds himself in third place among Democratic candidates, behind U.S. Rep. Jared Polis and Kennedy. Freshly tatted-up Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne is also running for governor; her campaign didn't respond to a request for info on her fundraising total.
Kennedy has seen a surge in the last few weeks that’s chipping away at Polis’ frontrunner status and her fundraising totals seem to reflect her momentum. She easily won a spot on the primary ballot through last month’s Democratic state assembly and this week earned the endorsement of former U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar.
A release from Johnston’s campaign said he brought in more than $605,000 for the reporting period that ended Wednesday. It brings his overall total to $2.1 million, which his campaign said is the most in contest primary history. The latest round of funding included money raised from Jan. 1 through Wednesday's deadline (which is why candidates bombarded people with last-second emails requesting donations yesterday).
“Last night was a powerful reminder that a diverse group of Coloradans want to build a different kind of politics, one that proves what’s still possible when we cross divides to create things that last,” Johnston said in the release.
Johnston this week took some steps to reach out to the state's Latino community. He published a Spanish-language ad on Thursday, becoming the first Colorado gubernatorial candidate to do so. He was also in Aurora on Wednesday to meet with members of the Latino community during a town hall at Hinkley High School.
Other candidates weren’t so quick to release fundraising numbers.
We’ve reached out to Polis’ and Lynne’s campaign for information on their new fundraising totals. Mara Sheldon, Polis’s campaign spokesperson, said he won’t be release fundraising totals as they will be posted on the Secretary of State’s website.
We also sent out requests to Republican candidates. We’ve reached out to the campaigns of State Treasurer Walker Stapleton, Victor Mitchell and Greg Lopez for more info. Doug Robinson’s campaign spokesperson Brett Many said they are holding off on releasing information for the time being.
Candidates have until May 7 to submit finance reports to the Secretary of State's office for the period that ended Wednesday.
