The Colorado Springs Gazette final

Dems up fundraising advantage in competitive state House races

BY HANNAH METZGER hannah.metzger@coloradopolitics.com Kathryn SCOTT, special TO The GAZETTE, FILE

With only a month remaining until Election Day, Democratic candidates are still winning the money race in all but one of the most competitive elections for the Colorado House of Representatives.

Campaign finance data released Tuesday shows that Democrats are out-fundraising their Republican opponents in nine of the 10 House races projected to be the most competitive, according to reports from the Secretary of State’s Office. In all nine of those races, the Democratic fundraising advantage has increased since previous campaign finance reports from Sept. 19.

The greatest disparity in fundraising is in the race for House District 13. Democratic candidate Rep. Julie Mccluskie has raised over $183,000 so far, compared to her Republican opponent David Buckley’s $19,700.

HD 13 is technically an open seat after Democratic Rep. Judy Amabile was drawn out of it and Mccluskie of District 61 was drawn into it. In addition to holding the largest fundraising advantage, Mccluskie widened her advantage by around $23,000 since last month. However, Mccluskie’s spending has only slightly outpaced Buckley’s, with the former spending around $21,000 and the latter $12,500.

HD 13 — including Grand,

Jackson, Lake, Park and Summit counties and parts of Chaffee County — has a considerable 5.4% Democratic advantage according to the redistricting analysis, but an over 1,000-voter surplus in Republicans compared to Democrats.

The only competitive race that financially favors the Republican candidate is that for HD 19 in Boulder and Weld counties. Republican candidate Rep. Dan Woog has raised just over $67,000, while Democratic candidate Jennifer

Lea Parenti has raised just under $61,000.

Though Woog has the money advantage, this is the smallest difference in fundraising by far for any of the top 10 most competitive House races. Parenti also narrowed the gap since last month, going from a $13,000 deficit to less than $7,000. HD 13 is another technically open seat due to the departure of Republican Rep. Tim Geitner and Woog being drawn out of his HD 63.

Both the redistricting analysis and voter registration results point to a small Republican advantage, with redistricting favoring Republicans by 1.5% and voter registration showing 712 more Republicans than Democrats. However, the more than 30,000 unaffiliated voters assure that the election could go either way.

Other notable races include HD 38, where incumbent Democratic Rep. David Ortiz has raised over $198,000 — the highest fundraising total for any competitive House candidate. Though Ortiz is financially dominating Republican candidate Jaylen Mosqueira, who has raised over $53,000, HD 38 has a slightly larger Republican population, with around 700 more Republican voters than Democrats.

The race for HD 25, which features two current lawmakers drawn out of their districts, shows Democrats pulling ahead. Democratic Sen. Tammy Story is leading with nearly $123,000 to Republican Rep. Colin Larson’s $66,700. Story has increased the fundraising gap in recent months, going from $12,000 in her favor in August, to just under $36,000 in September, to over $56,000 now. HD 25 leans slightly Republican in both the redistricting analysis and the voter registration.

Here are where the remaining top 10 most competitive House races stand for fundraising:

House District 26

• Meghan Lukens (D): $137,903

• Savannah Wolfson (R): $76,431

House District 59

• Barbara Mclachlan (D): $145,060

• Shelli Shaw (R): $66,159

House District 61

• Eliza Hamrick (D): $117,573

• Dave Woolever (R): $28,574

House District 18

• Marc Snyder (D): $114,583

• Shana Black (R): $16,790

House District 16

• Stephanie Vigil (D): $54,171

• Dave Donelson (R): $42,085

House District 28

• Sheila Lieder (D): $60,330

• Dan Montoya (R): $27,547 This comes as the November election has the potential to bring big changes to Colorado’s House of Representatives. Last year, the state redrew its district boundaries, moving many sitting lawmakers, changing the political balance of each district, and making several House seats competitive for the first time in a decade.

While Democrats aren’t at risk of losing control of the chamber — enjoying a whopping 41-24 majority — Republican candidates have a shot at flipping a substantial number of seats to create a nearly evenly split Legislature, though Republican candidates will now have to overcome a significant fundraising deficit in all but one of the most competitive races.

Colorado Politics identified the most politically competitive state House districts by looking at the estimated competitiveness from the Independent Redistricting Commission’s report, in addition to the most recent active voter registration numbers from September.

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2022-10-06T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-10-06T07:00:00.0000000Z

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