When talking about campaign fundraising, one expression often heard in political circles is “spend it to the end.”

That means candidates spend what they raise and leave nothing in the bank when the ballots get counted.

And the more competitive the race, the more is spent.

In Denver’s House District 6, Democratic Rep. Elisabeth Epps has raised about $63,000, which includes $20,000 left over from the 2022 campaign. Through Monday, she’s spent less than $6,000 during 2024. She paid for campaign literature, at $392, on June 12.

But that’s been the only expenditure of that type. She paid for two canvassers back in March, for a total of $520, as well as $1,000 for a campaign consultant, also in March.

Epps is sitting on more than $52,000 in her campaign coffers with one week to go to the June 25 primary election. 

Epps told Colorado Politics her campaign has been paying invoices during the past week as they come in.

“Every $ raised for Elect Elisabeth Epps campaign committee is either already spent, or is budgeted to be allocated to forthcoming invoices,” she said in an email.

In the reporting cycle between May 30 and June 12, Epps raised $7,061, all in contributions of less than $450.

Sean Camacho, her primary opponent, raised $30,737 in the same cycle, with $6,200 from the realtor small donor committee and from the Colorado Apartment Association small donor committee. Out of the nearly $177,000 he’s raised, Camacho has spent more than $156,000, including $25,000 on advertising and $95,000 on campaign employees, consultants and a company hired to collect petition signatures to get on the ballot.

He has $20,000 to finish out the primary election cycle.

Independent expenditure committees are also involved in the House 6 race, albeit with mailers that appear to run afoul of state law.

One recent mailer, which lacks the language required by state law to disclose who paid for it, attacks both Epps and Rep. Tim Hernández in HD 4.

The mailer criticizes both candidates for their votes on gun control legislation in the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions. The mailer’s return address — 6110 E. Colfax Ave. #4 — is a UPS store. 

Based on the return address, the mailer is from a “dark money” group called Fighting for a Stronger Colorado, which reported spending more than $289,000 on mailers exclusively on the House District 4 and House District 6 races, opposing Epps and Hernández and supporting their primary challengers. That included mailers on the two lawmakers’ gun votes.

These are so-called “dark money” entities because they are not legally required to disclose who their funders are.   

The IEC’s biggest contributions come from Citizens for a Great Denver, which also does not disclose its funders, at $104,000. The group received $63,000 from Forward Denver, which also does not disclose its contributors.

Outside groups spend $5.5 million

Independent expenditure committees have spent more than $5.5 million in the last three months on the primaries, including for candidates for Denver district, state board of education, county commissions and state legislature.

These committees are prohibited by law from coordinating with the candidates, which has led some candidates to disavow their efforts, such as what Democratic Rep. Lindsey Daugherty did.

Daugherty, who’s running for Senate District 19, issued a statement Monday saying she and her team had nothing to do with campaign mailers, ads or other materials that don’t come directly from her campaign.

“We intend to win the right way, by earning voters’ trust, or not at all,” she said.

The Senate District 19 race between Democrats Daugherty and Westminster City Councilman Obi Ezeadi is a near dead heat, in terms of candidate fundraising. 

Daugherty has raised $156,239, including more than $18,000 in the reporting period between May 30 and June 12. That included $1,000 each from a trade union and Homes for All Coloradoans,, which is tied to the Colorado Association of Home Builders. She has almost $28,000 remaining.

Ezeadi is not far behind, with a total raised of $143,261, including $6,721 in the most recent reporting cycle. He spent almost five times that in the same time period and has more than $63,000 left. All of his contributions in the last two weeks were less than $450 each.

Better Schools for a Stronger Colorado has been doing phone calls on behalf of a number of Democratic candidates, including Daugherty, whom they spent more than $55,000 on this month.

Meanwhile, the candidate fundraising between Hernández and his primary opponent, former appellate judge Cecelia Espenoza, in House District 4, continues to be neck and neck.

Espenoza raised $103,774 plus loaned her campaign $20,000. In the most recent reporting period, she raised $14,926, with large contributions from the apartment association and COPIC, a medical liability insurance company. Her bank balance is down to $18,878

Hernández has now raised $117,004, including $14,753 in the most recent reporting period and all in small contributions of less than $450. He has $37,246 heading into the final week of the primary season. 

The other race generating a lot of cash, both by candidates and via outside groups, is in House District 36 and the two Democrats vying to succeed Rep. Mike Weissman of Aurora, who is running for the state Senate.

Better Schools has spent more than $40,000 to support Michael Carter and oppose Bryan Lindstrom. This year, the outside group is funded entirely by Stand for Children, a public education advocacy group that doesn’t disclose its funders.

Carter has raised $76,627, plus loaned his campaign another $6,616. He raised almost $16,000 in the last two weeks — the largest donation came from the realtor small donor committee at $6,200.

Lindstrom has raised $89,778 plus $400 in loans. He raised $12,417 in the last two weeks, with the biggest contribution coming from the Service International Employees Union, at $6,000. 

The race for Lakewood’s House District 30 Democratic primary is between Kyra deGruy Kennedy — an activist and wife of current HD30 Rep. Chris deGruy Kennedy — and Lakewood City Councilwoman Rebekah Stewart.

Stewart has led in fundraising throughout the season and still maintains about a $30,000 advantage. She’s raised $136,630, including $8,025 between May 30 and June 12. That includes $2,000 from COPIC and $1,000 each from the home builders and the Laborers Local 720. She’s got almost $36,000 remaining in the bank.

DeGruy Kennedy has raised $106,817 and bested Stewart in the most recent reporting cycle, with $10,924, all in donations of less than $450. She has just over $20,000 left.