Millions of out-of-state dollars are pouring into the Denver mayor’s race. One candidate is calling foul

The super PAC supporting Mike Johnston has reported more than $4.2 million in contributions. The PAC for Kelly Brough has reported $1.5 million.
5 min. read
Mayoral candidates Kelly Brough and Mike Johnston take part in a debate in Denver7’s studio, hosted by 7, the Denver Post, Colorado Public Radio and Denverite. May 23, 2023.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

Denver mayoral hopeful Kelly Brough called the millions of dollars in out-of-state super PAC money supporting her opponent Mike Johnston "inappropriate."

"I don't think anyone understood that those kinds of resources would come in from outside of our state trying to influence this election," Brough said at a press conference Thursday. "I think it's not only unfair, but you have to wonder why that would happen."

While Brough has also benefited from out-of-state money and billionaires giving to her super PAC, though not nearly as much.

The super PAC supporting Johnston, Advancing Denver, has reported more than $4.2 million in contributions, more than half coming from California, New York and Connecticut.

Former New York City mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg gave $500,000. Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, gave $1.3 million, probably the largest single contributor for a candidate in one election in Denver history.

"How can Reid Hoffman be his best friend and the city's best friend too?" asked former Denver mayor and Brough supporter Wellington Webb. "Donating $1.3 million. Every time you get one of those ads in the mail or you see one of those television commercials, that's Reid Hoffman money."

"We don't do business that way in Denver," Webb said. "Denver's not for sale."

Hoffman hasn't responded to requests for comment about why he's giving to Johnston. In a LinkedIn post two months ago, he wrote:

"Cities are the places where creative entrepreneurs with political courage can develop and deploy big ideas that become proof points for the country. My friend Mike Johnston, who is running for Mayor of Denver, is one of the most creative and courageous political entrepreneurs I've worked with."

It is an unprecedented amount of money supporting a Denver municipal candidate, and far more than the $1.5 million reported from the super PAC supporting Brough, A Better Denver.

About a third of that has come from out-of-state, via the National Association of Realtors fund based in Illinois.

There were periodic chants of "Denver's not for sale" from the crowd of Brough supporters who assembled on the east steps of City Hall for the press conference.

This all comes just five days ahead of the runoff between Brough and Johnston. It's the first time in 12 years that outgoing Mayor Michael Hancock is not on the ballot. Mayor of Denver is a coveted political position, not only because of the unique power the office holds over the city, but also because it's often been a springboard to higher offices.

Kelly Brough defends the significant contributions to her campaign

Brough entered the runoff as the underdog. Johnston finished first with 7,646 more votes than Brough in the first election in April, and Johnston won far more precincts across the city. That's partly thanks to the significant money advantage in April's general election.

Brough referred to the super PAC supporting her, A Better Denver, as "my IE" (short for independent expenditure committee). In reality, the PAC must legally be totally separate from her campaign. Super PACs can collect unlimited sums, but can't coordinate with the candidates. Brough's campaign later clarified that she does not control the PAC.

Brough defended the National Association of Realtors' financial support, $471,156 so far, and tried to differentiate it from the money behind Johnston.

"That contributor is made up of thousands of Realtors who have pooled their money to try to help in this race," Brough said. "And you could see Realtors in this city care about the same thing you do. They care that our schools are good, that there's housing that's affordable, that it's safe in our neighborhoods, otherwise, they're not successful here. So it makes sense to me."

Brough has also received large individual donations from prominent conservatives, Pete Coors and Philip Anschutz, who gave $50,000 and $10,000 respectively. She's also received significant sums from large developers -- $50,000 from Cal Fulenwider, and $25,000 from Patrick Broe.

Brough said not only is the scale of giving totally different, so is where the donors live.

"Pete Coors is a great example," Brough said. "This is a family who lives here, who's trying to probably raise grandchildren here, who go to our schools, attend our parks, who want this city to be the beautiful city we're capable of being. I think it's a huge difference."

Johnston's campaign, in a statement, said that donors to Advancing Denver regularly give to progressive causes and candidates.

"Unlike donors to Kelly Brough's PAC, the vast majority of people donating to Advancing Denver do not have business in front of the city nor are they prominent Republican donors. Instead, they want to see Denver become a proof-point for the rest of the nation in how to successfully run a progressive city that takes on tough challenges."

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