As he has every quarter this election cycle, Democrat Adam Frisch bowled over Colorado’s other congressional candidates in the campaign finance department in reports filed this week covering the first three months of the year.

And that’s even after losing U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert as an opponent — and lightning rod for donations — when the two-term Republican moved across the state to run in a safer district.

Frisch, who nearly unseated Boebert in 2022 in the Republican-leaning 3rd Congressional District, hauled in $1.4 million in contributions for the quarter ending March 31, becoming the state’s only federal candidate to break seven figures — for the fifth reporting period in a row.

His most recent quarter’s total, however, was less than half what Frisch raised in the previous quarter, when the former Aspen City Council member saw an avalanche of small-dollar donations in response to his campaign’s nearly constant stream of fundraising appeals that vowed to bring an end to Boebert’s brash, “angertainment” approach to politics.

Boebert announced at the end of last year that she would seek another term from the more favorable 4th Congressional District, citing Frisch’s eye-popping fundraising, in part. Encompassing Douglas County, Loveland and the Eastern Plains, the 4th CD is the state’s most reliably Republican seat. Since 2015, it’s been held by Republican U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, who announced last fall that he wasn’t running for reelection. Buck abruptly resigned from Congress in March, setting up the state’s first special election for a vacant U.S. House seat in more than 40 years.

Congressional candidates were required to file reports with the Federal Election Commission for the three-month fundraising period from January through March by midnight Monday.

Unopposed for the Democratic nomination this cycle, Frisch headed into April with $5.8 million on hand, more than 10 times as much as the most flush Republican candidate seeking the nomination in the 3rd CD.

Republican Jeff Hurd led the pack among the six Republicans running for Boebert’s old seat who reported contributions for the quarter. The Grand Junction attorney and first-time candidate raised $241,312 — down slightly from the previous quarter, his first in the race — and had $527,987 left over to spend.

Self-funder Lew Webb loaned his campaign $150,000 and reported $130,335 on hand, followed by State Board of Education member Stephen Varela, who raised $70,357 and finished the quarter with $23,024. Another largely self-funding candidate, Russ Andrews — who loaned his campaign more than $260,000 last year — raised $23,527 and finished with $127,790. Curtis McCrackin raised $36,452, including $20,000 he loaned his campaign, and finished March with a $10,826 deficit on the books. Former state Rep. Ron Hanks, an unsuccessful 2022 candidate for the U.S. Senate, raised just $9,130, including $5,000 he pitched into his own campaign, and ended the quarter with $5,735 in the bank. Another Republican candidate, Joe Granado, hasn’t filed campaign finance reports.

Varela and Hanks qualified for the June 25 primary at the district’s GOP assembly, while McCrackin and Hurd landed spots on the ballot by petition. Webb, Andrews and Granado are awaiting word on petitions they submitted last month.

Lauren Boebert leads GOP primary field in her new district

In her new district, Boebert out-raised a crowded field of Republican primary rivals and finished the quarter with nearly $1 million in the bank — more than all the other candidates for the 4th CD, Republicans combined.

While the $462,403 Boebert reported in contributions for the period marks a sharp drop from her previous quarterly totals this cycle, it was still more than twice as much as any other Republican brought in.

Deborah Flora, a 2022 U.S. Senate candidate from Douglas County, raised $175,927 for the quarter and had $167,107 on hand, followed by former state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg of Sterling, a cattle rancher and Logan County commissioner, who took in $157,601 and entered April with $224,402 to spend. Self-funding oil and gas industry advocate Floyd Trujillo reported $104,323 in receipts, including $95,000 he loaned his campaign, and had $12,428 left.

None of the other Republicans still in the running for the seat raised even half that much. Former top congressional aide Chris Phelen had $48,386 in receipts, including $38,000 he loaned his campaign, and finished the quarter with $8,502 on hand. State Rep. Mike Lynch of Wellington raised $42,405 and reported just $3,036 on hand. State Rep. Richard Holtorf of Akron raised $28,593, loaned himself nearly $50,000 and had $98,417 remaining. Another former 2022 U.S. Senate candidate, Peter Yu, raised $31,112 for the quarter — on top of $250,000 he loaned his campaign last quarter — and reported $275,657 in the bank.

Former state Sen. Ted Harvey of Highlands Ranch, who failed to make the primary at the party’s assembly, raised $26,342 and finished with $29,744 left over.

Five Republicans have already qualified for the 4th CD primary, while three more are awaiting rulings on their petitions. Boebert won the assembly after already having qualified by petition; Holtorf and Sonnenberg got in by assembly and petition; and, Flora and Lynch petitioned on the ballot. Trujillo, Phelen and Yu have yet to hear whether they submitted enough valid signatures.

Ike McCorkle, one of the Democrats running for the seat, nearly lapped Boebert in fundraising for the quarter. The Marine veteran, who lost to Buck in the previous two elections, brought in $786,260 but spent more than that — mostly on fundraising expenses — and finished with $157,622 on hand heading into the primary.

Among the other Democrats running in the 4th CD primary, John Padora raised $196,665 and had $48,718 on hand, while Trisha Calvarese raised $40,182 and finished the quarter with $32,390.

Calvarese is the Democrats’ nominee in the June 25 special election for Buck’s former seat, where she’ll face Republican Greg Lopez, a former Parker mayor and two-time gubernatorial candidate.

Democrat Yadira Caraveo bolsters coffers in toss-up district

In what’s expected to be the state’s closest-fought race in the 8th Congressional District, Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo raised $855,172 and finished the quarter with nearly $2 million on hand. 

Caraveo won election in 2022 to the newly created seat — covering parts of Adams, Larimer and Weld counties — by a narrow margin. She’ll face the winner of a Republican primary between state Rep. Gabe Evans of Fort Lupton and former state Rep. Janak Joshi of Colorado Springs.

Evans reported raising $251,379 for the quarter — helped with donations and fundraising support from House GOP leaders, including Speaker Mike Johnson — and had $339,439 on hand after loaning his campaign nearly $25,000 last year. Joshi, who moved into the district earlier this year, took in $125,334, including a $100,000 candidate loan, and finished the quarter with $116,711 in the bank.

Jeff Crank outraises Dave Williams in 5th CD

Two Republicans are running in a primary in the El Paso County-based 5th Congressional District to replace retiring nine-term U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn: Jeff Crank, an executive with Americans for Prosperity, and Dave Williams, the Colorado Republican Party chairman and a former state lawmaker.

Crank raised $301,916 and ended the quarter with $227,753 in cash. Williams, who put over $100,000 into his campaign, reported receipts of $171,511 and finished March with $198,000 in debt, including $98,000 left over from his 2022 campaign, when he challenged Lamborn.

The Democratic candidates for the seat are River Gassen, who raised $29,527 and ended the quarter with $6,003, and Joe Reagan, who reported $21,330 in receipts — including a little over $5,100 he gave his own campaign — and had $9,923 left to spend.

Democrats in safe seats pile up campaign cash

The Democratic incumbents in Colorado’s remaining four seats added to already sizable campaign chests while facing only nominal challenges.

U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen raised $356,634 in her bid for a second term representing the Jefferson County-based 7th Congressional District. She reported $780,429 at the end of the quarter. Republican nominee Sergei Matveyu raised $1,245 and had $942 on hand.

Joe Neguse, the assistant House minority leader, raised $306,252 and had $1.7 million on hand in his bid for a fourth term representing the 2nd Congressional District, which covers the northwest part of the state, including Boulder and most of Larimer counties. His Republican opponent, Marshall Dawson, reported raising $925 for the quarter and had $11,438 on hand.

Another Democrat seeking a fourth term, Jason Crow, raised $308,271 in the Aurora-based 6th Congressional District and had $1.6 million left to spend. Republican John Fabbricatore raised $27,067 and finished the quarter with $24,920 in the bank.

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette raised $114,091 in her bid for a 15th term in Denver’s solidly Democratic 1st Congressional District. She reported $332,642 cash on hand. GOP nominee Valdamar Archuleta raised $4,859 for the quarter and finished with $2,015.