More than $13 million in contributions – both to campaigns and outside groups – have flooded Denver’s municipal races, eclipsing the $8.5 million in the 2019 election and setting up a ferocious battle among mayoral hopefuls with only two weeks to go before Election Day.  

More than 43,000 people contributed to campaigns this year, including nearly 21,000 who gave to a mayoral candidate, according to the latest campaign finance reports from the Denver City Clerk and Recorder. 

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The top fundraisers are clustered close together, hinting of a tight race. A poll commissioned by The Denver Gazette/Colorado Politics, 9News and Metropolitan State University earlier showed 58% of those surveyed say they’re undecided, with no candidate pulling in above 5%.

Counting matching funds from the city, Kelly Brough holds a $200,000 lead with nearly $1.4 million raised. She has so far received $644,000 in direct contributions and $750,000 from the Fair Elections Fund, a voter-approved public financing model that matches donations of up to $50 at a ratio of 9 to1. 

Brough also benefited from roughly $900,000 in support from an independent expenditure group – an outside entity operating autonomously from her campaign – called “A Better Denver.” By law, candidate campaigns and independent expenditure groups may not coordinate.   

Contributors to “A Better Denver” included Denver developer Lloyd Fulenwider of L.C. Fulenwider, a real estate firm, and Patrick Broe, founder of The Broe Group. 

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L.C. Fulenwider, which traces its history in Denver back to the early 1900s, is behind several projects, such as the Pena Station NEXT master planned development, which the company calls a “new vision of community.” Broe Real Estate, a subsidiary of The Broe Group, owns and manages a multibillion dollar portfolio of industrial, commercial and residential properties. In Denver, it has invested in four residential towers and several commercial buildings. 

Brough’s campaign also attracted significant attention from the National Association of REALTORS, which gave $150,000 to A Better Denver.

Mike Johnston sits in second place, having raised $1,161,000. His campaign has so far received $547,000 in contributions and about $614,000 in Fair Elections Fund money. 

An independent expenditure group called “Advancing Denver” also raised $1.5 million to help Johnston. The group received money from LinkedIn Cofounder Reid Hoffman, hedge fund manager Steve Mandel and investors John and Laura Arnold, who contributed a combined $1.1 million.

State Rep. Leslie Herod took in about $920,000, with about $333,000 coming from direct contributions. The lion’s share of money going to Herod’s campaign – about $587,00- came from matching funds.

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Herod also enjoys the support of an independent expenditure group called “Ready Denver,” which so far has raised $167,600. 

Money from the Fair Elections Fund comes from the city’s coffers, based on an annual appropriation of $2.88 per Denverite per year. A mayoral candidate can receive a maximum of $750,000, candidates for city council at-large, clerk and recorder and auditor’s seats may receive up to $250,000 and city council candidates may receive up to $125,000.  The fund may not exceed $8 million in size. 

Businessman Andy Rougeot and state Sen. Chris Hansen round out the top five fundraisers, with $806,000 and $602,000, respectively.

Of Rougeot’s total amount, only about $56,000 came from contributors; the remaining money was from a series of loans he gave to his campaign.

Hansen received a majority of his money – $375,187.50 – from the Fair Elections Fund. 

Of the questions on the ballot, only one has drawn financial interest: Question 2O, which asks Denver voters whether they want to see the Park Hill Golf Course redeveloped. A “yes” vote on the measure allows redevelopment of the golf course, while a “no” vote will keep it under a conservation easement. 

A subsidiary of Westside Investment Partners, the company that owns the 155-acre plot of land and submitted plans to develop the area, contributed about $911,000. Meanwhile, the redevelopment plan’s critics raised $127,000.