Even without Lauren Boebert as a foil, Adam Frisch leads in fundraising in Colorado congressional contests

Democrat Adam Frisch brought in the biggest financial haul of any of Colorado’s congressional hopefuls during the first three months of the year, raising $1.4 million — nearly six times as much as his main Republican rival in the 3rd Congressional District, Jeff Hurd.

And U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, after switching in December from the Western Slope-based 3rd to seek election in the 4th Congressional District in eastern Colorado, raised the least amount of money for her campaign in a single quarter dating back at least a year — a bit over $462,000. But her campaign account still had nearly $980,000 in it as of March 31.

First-quarter campaign finance reports were due earlier this week, revealing the latest state of the money race in a selection of congressional districts that are hosting high-interest primaries or are potentially competitive in November. There will be one more finance reporting deadline ahead of Colorado’s June 25 primary, on June 13.

Here is a look at what the new filings show:

3rd Congressional District

Frisch, a former Aspen city councilman who nearly beat Boebert in 2022, sits on a nearly $6 million mountain of money. Much of it was the result of more than a year of historic fundraising spurred on by a fervent desire among Democrats to oust the Republican congresswoman in the 3rd, which also swings east to Pueblo.

Jeff Hurd, a Grand Junction attorney, received $241,000 between Jan. 1 and March 31, an amount he hopes will be enough to put him over the top in the GOP primary in the conservative-leaning district. He has raised nearly $1 million since jumping in the race last summer, initially to challenge Boebert.

Frisch, who’s unopposed in the Democratic primary, holds a gargantuan financial advantage over the half-dozen or so Republicans running for the nomination, with nearly $12.2 million raised since he announced his candidacy in February of last year.

That’s nearly eight times the amount raised by all of his potential GOP rivals — combined. Even so, Frisch’s money train has slowed since he hit a quarterly peak of $3.3 million collected in the third quarter of 2023 — a change he said he expected with Boebert’s exit from the district.

To face Frisch, Hurd has to beat a collection of Republicans in June. Stephen Varela, who serves on the Colorado Board of Education, raised $70,000 in the first quarter while Curtis McCrackin, a Delta County businessman, took in just over $36,000. Russ Andrews, a financial adviser, raised nearly $25,000.

Lew Webb, a former car dealership owner who lives in Durango, lent his campaign $150,000 and collected $2,500 in contributions during the first quarter. Former state Rep. Ron Hanks, who ran for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 2022 and lost, raised just over $9,000 in the quarter.

4th Congressional District

In her new district, Boebert — despite raising less than she has in a year — still led what’s been a crowded Republican primary field. She wasn’t substantially off her pace from the last three months of 2023, when she took in $540,000.

All told, she has tallied more than $3.4 million in contributions this election cycle.

Boebert this month picked up the top ballot line by winning the most support at the GOP assembly. She also received the endorsement of the Colorado Republican Party to win the seat held by Ken Buck until last month, when the five-term congressman stepped down nine months before the end of his term.

Aside from Boebert, the top GOP candidates for what is Colorado’s most reliable Republican congressional district include former conservative radio host Deborah Flora, who landed nearly $180,000 in the first three months of 2024 and has more than $167,000 cash on hand. Logan County Commissioner Jerry Sonnenberg, a former state lawmaker, raised $158,000 and has more than $224,000 in his account.

The rest of the GOP field — among them state Reps. Mike Lynch and Richard Holtorf, businessman Peter Yu, retired oil and gas businessman Floyd Trujillo, and Chris Phelen, former chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn — brought in anywhere from $30,000 to $104,000 for the quarter.

On the Democratic side, addiction recovery advocate John Padora collected nearly $200,000 in the first quarter, followed by Trisha Calvarese with more than $40,000 and Ian McCorkle, who has challenged Buck in years past, took in $4,850.

On the same day as the primary, the 4th District also will have a special election — featuring Calvarese and Republican Greg Lopez — to fill the rest of Buck’s term this year.

5th Congressional District

In the El Paso County-centered district, where Lamborn announced he would step down at the end of his term, two Republican men hope to represent a district that has been solidly GOP for decades.

State party chairman Dave Williams raised $171,000 in the first quarter, though $100,000 of that total was a loan he made to his campaign. He entered the race just days after Lamborn announced he wouldn’t seek re-election in January.

In the primary, Williams faces Jeff Crank, a consultant and longtime radio host in Colorado Springs who ran against Lamborn in 2006 and 2008. Crank collected just over $300,000 over the last three months and has more than $227,000 cash on hand.

Democrat River Gassen, a scientist who has worked for NASA, collected nearly $30,000 in the first quarter. She has $6,000 cash on hand. Another candidate, Joe Reagan, has reported no fundraising.

8th Congressional District

The next-biggest fundraiser across Colorado’s eight congressional districts, behind Frisch, has been U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo, a Democrat. She took in $855,000 during the most recent reporting period.