Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, has become the largest single donor of the 2023 Denver mayor race, by a lot.
Hoffman has contributed $779,804 so far to an independent expenditure committee supporting former state senator Mike Johnston, called Advancing Denver. The IE has $1,411,804 in total contributions now.
That puts Johnston well ahead in total fundraising supporting him in the mayor's race.
Hoffman has long been a supporter. During Johnston's campaign for governor in 2018, Hoffman contributed $1 million to Frontier Fairness PAC, an IE committee that supported Johnston. Despite the money, Johnston finished third in the Democratic primary.
Independent expenditure committees can accept unlimited contributions but cannot coordinate with campaigns.
Little is known about Hoffman's interest in Johnston. Neither Hoffman or Johnston's campaign responded immediately for comment.
The two "know each other from previous work on education issues," according to a brief mention in a 2017 Vox article about Hoffman's political giving.
In 2019, Hoffman was connected to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein through their shared fundraising for the MIT Media Lab. Hoffman invited Epstein to a dinner in 2015 in Palo Alto that included Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, according to Axios. Hoffman told Axios the interactions were limited, but he apologized for the connection.
Hoffman is worth about $2 billion according to an estimate by Forbes. Besides LinkedIn, he was an early investor in Facebook and Airbnb.
Meanwhile, A Better Denver, the IE supporting former Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce CEO Kelly Brough is the next largest in terms of contributions at $728,175 - about half the size of the IE supporting Johnston.
The largest contributor to A Better Denver is the National Association of REALTORS, with up to $300,000 in donations.
Councilwoman Debbie Ortega, who has struggled with fundraising, received a boost as well. Denver Firefighters - IAFF Local 858 spent $120,397 on her behalf, propelling her into the top 5 in total fundraising.
