You’re likely going to see a lot of U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and Attorney General Phil Weiser in the coming months — and much of it may not be very nice.
Bennet and Weiser, through their campaign accounts and the state-level super PACs backing them, had amassed nearly a combined $9 million through the end of last year for their high-stakes face off in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.
It’s money they’ll start to unload on each other over the next six months in the sprint toward the June primary election.
The funds will likely be mostly spent on the primary given that whoever wins the Democratic faceoff will likely become governor in November. Colorado voters have not elected a Republican to be governor since 2002. Current Gov. Jared Polis, who is term-limited, won reelection in 2022 by nearly 20 percentage points.
Jim Carpenter, a longtime Democratic campaign and political strategist in Colorado, expects the Weiser and Bennet campaigns, and their PACs, to wait as long as they can to start their spending.
“Even $9 million doesn’t go all that far on television for all that long these days,” said Carpenter, who is not affiliated with either campaign. “My guess is that the launch — we won’t see it for a few more weeks.”
Michael Bennet, left, and Phil Weiser, right. (File photos by Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)Carpenter said he expects Weiser and Bennet’s ads to start off positive, with the two candidates seeking to remind voters of their records and why they voted them into office in the first place.
“Then, depending on caucus and assembly, it will start to ramp up and decisions will be made about tone,” he said, explaining that the “heavy stuff” will land in May and June.
Bennet has the slight money advantage, according to campaign finance reports filed Thursday, thanks to the super PAC supporting his candidacy. Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited money but are prohibited from coordinating with candidates. Individual donations to gubernatorial candidates are capped at $1,450.
Bennet’s campaign raised about $800,000 last quarter and spent $787,000 — a high burn rate — but still started the year with about $1.6 million in campaign cash. The super PAC supporting Bennet, Rocky Mountain Way, raised $1.36 million last quarter and spent less than $200,000, starting the new year with about $3.3 million in the bank.
The biggest contributor to Rocky Mountain Way last quarter was former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who gave $750,000, bringing his total donations to the group to $1.25 million. Other big donors and donations to the super PAC last quarter included:
Brighter Future for Colorado, a nonprofit that doesn’t disclose its donors and gave the committee $150,000. The organization is what The Colorado Sun refers to as a dark money group. Brighter Future for Colorado gave Rocky Mountain Way a total of $550,000 last year. $50,000 each from Broe Holding LLC, a real estate investment company in Denver, and Jeff Shell, the president of Paramount Skydance Corporation. The PAC received $25,000 each from three businessmen: Andrew Hauptman, founder of Andell Holdings; Charles Ledley of Liminality; and Steve Mandel of Lone Pine Capital.PAC money doesn’t go as far as campaign cash because campaigns typically get better ad rates.
Weiser’s campaign raised $822,000 last quarter and spent about $310,000, starting the year with about $3.5 million in the bank. The state-level super PAC supporting his campaign Fighting for Colorado, raised about $350,000 last quarter, spent $23,000 and had about $530,000 in the bank to start the new year.
Some of the notable donors and donations last quarter to Fighting for Colorado were:
Merle Chambers, a former oil and gas executive who is a major Democratic donor, at $25,000. Blair Richarson, the CEO of the private equity and general investment firm Bow River Capital, also gave the PAC $25,000. $50,000 each from Thomas Ray, who leads a private equity firm, and investor Arthur Reimers Pat Meyers, a longtime Colorado businessman who has held key roles in Gov. John Hickenlooper’s and Gov. Jared Polis’ administrationsWeiser and Bennet sharpen their spears
A lot of the money the two sides are amassing will likely be spent attacking each other. Weiser and Bennet used a feisty debate last weekend in Denver to test out their messaging and sharpen their spears.
Weiser hurled his battle-tested lines about how Bennet should stay in the Senate given his experience, how Bennet has voted for some of President Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees and how Bennet is backed by deep-pocketed donors from out of state.
“I’m not afraid to do the right thing when there are political consequences,” Weiser said in what appeared to be a slight toward Bennet. “It is important that leaders lead with their values and fight for what is right.”
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser speaks at a debate hosted by the Colorado Young Democrats in Denver, Colorado, on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2025. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)Bennet went on the offensive for the first time publicly, firing back by appearing to claim that Weiser was doing the bare minimum to push back against Trump.
“There’s literally nothing easier in the world than voting against a Trump nominee on the floor of the U.S. Senate — except for maybe joining someone else’s lawsuit that’s been filed against Donald Trump and saying that ‘I’m fighting, fighting, fighting Donald Trump,’” Bennet said.
Bennet used some version of that attack messaging a few times during the debate.
“I don’t need a lecture from our attorney general about who’s fighting Donald Trump, about who’s willing to stand up for the families in this state,” Bennet said. “There is a difference between signing on to other people’s lawsuits and then walking around suburban Colorado saying ‘I am fighting Trump with my 50 lawsuits.’ There’s a difference between being willing to take on a challenge like the civil rights challenge that exists today in our school systems in Colorado and across this country, as I did as superintendent.”
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet at a debate hosted by the Colorado Young Democrats in Denver, Colorado, on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2025. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)Bennet is entering the final months of the primary campaign with a new campaign manager.
Nellie Moran took over as campaign manager Jan. 5. She previously served as chief of staff for the Colorado Senate Democrats.
Moran is replacing Ben Waldon, who launched Bennet’s campaign but who was not experienced in Colorado politics.
Candidates in crowded Republican gubernatorial primary are lagging way behind in fundraising
On the Republican side of the gubernatorial ticket, the fundraising has been relatively paltry.
In the campaign cash lead is Victor Marx, a ministry leader in Colorado Springs and Marine veteran with a large social media following, who raised $621,000 last quarter and spent about $271,000. His haul included a roughly $24,000 donation Marx made to his campaign.
Marx had about $350,000 in the bank to start the new year. There are two state-level super PACs that appear to be supporting his campaign, but they’ve raised less than $150,000 combined.
In second place is state Sen. Barbara Kirmeyer of Brighton, who raised just short of $200,000 last quarter and spent about $100,000. She had about $275,000 in the bank to start the new year.
The rest of the large Republican gubernatorial candidate field raised a fraction of what Marx and Kirkmeyer took in.
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