On Election Day eve, Hancock wins the fundraising race and others are bolstered by small donors 

Calderón in particular had big support from small donations.
2 min. read
A mayoral candidate forum on environmental policy at the Alliance Center downtown, March 21, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

The latest reports are in, and Mayor Michael Hancock's campaign wallet is empty -- because he has already spent the $2.1 million he's raised.

The incumbent's three most well-financed opponents trail in terms of total dollars, and their support tends to come from smaller donations.

Former RiNo Art District president Jamie Giellis had raised about $506,000 through May 1, according to campaign finance reports. Former state lawmaker Penfield Tate received about $302,000, while criminal justice professor and advocate Lisa Calderón raised about $122,000.

Since the beginning of her campaign, Calderón aimed to reach a lot of people who could give a little money. The candidate raised about $22,000 during the latest reporting period, which lasted from mid-April to early May. About two-thirds of that chunk came from small donations -- $50 or less.

Giellis has had no problem attracting large donors that give the $3,000 maximum. She is the closest to matching Hancock's fundraising prowess, and raised almost $31,000 in the last reporting period, documents show. About 30 percent of that money came from donations of $50 or less.

Tate is in third place overall, having raised about $35,o00 in the closing weeks of the election. He needed fewer donors to get there -- about 10 percent of his funds came from small donors.

Meanwhile, Hancock's latest round totaled about $234,000. Less than 10 percent of those donations came from smalltime funders.

Kalyn Rose Heffernan has raised about $11,000 since her campaign began. Stephan "Chairman Seku" Evans has raised about $2,300.

The only numbers that matter in the end, of course, are poll numbers. Election Day is tomorrow. Rev those engines.

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