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House 59 fundraising nears $1M

Outside groups give challenger the spending edge

The fight for the 59th Colorado House District between Rep. Mike McLachlan, a Democrat, and former representative J. Paul Brown, a Republican, has become a million-dollar race.

The most recent filings with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office show that by mid-October, a tight cluster of established political interests had lavished at least $962,000, trying to buy the political advantage in one of the hardest-fought contests in the state – or $12.25 per resident.

That’s right: If you’re one of the 78,431 people who live in the 59th, Colorado’s well-heeled partisan machinery has already forked out $12.25 trying to purchase your vote.

The price of the seat is still climbing, said Rich Coolidge, spokesman for the Colorado Secretary of State.

“October: That’s when you see the crescendo of these dollars. In Congressional District 6, you’ve seen national money pull away from Romanoff. I think you’re going to see money continue to flow into the 59th District because it’s on the cusp there, because it could go one way or another, both sides will pump money to get their horse over the line.”

While the cost of the race is exorbitant, the candidates’ direct spending accounts for just a fraction of the overall bill.

The vast majority of the money that’s been pouring into the 59th – $728,356 comes from deeper, doggedly partisan pockets: 527s, political action committees and independent expenditure committees. (IECs are better known by their notorious nickname, Super PACs.)

Just like the last time they faced off in 2012, this cycle, McLachlan established an early, commanding lead over Brown – who, by his own game admission, has never warmed to fundraising – with McLachlan raising $148,000 – almost double Brown’s $86,000.

McLachlan said, “In terms of my fundraising versus Brown’s – what I have some control over – I’ve raised twice as much as he has.”

But conservative groups’ spending has obliterated McLachlan’s financial edge over Brown.

As of mid-October, right-leaning groups had ponied up $427,000 trying to unseat McLachlan, handily overtaking left-leaning groups’ $300,000.

Republican groups’ determination to take McLachlan out is even more striking looking at October’s campaign-finance returns.

By late September, right-leaning groups were narrowly outspending left-leaning groups, $270,000 to $238,000.

But between Sept. 24 and Oct. 8, conservative expenditures exploded, with right-leaning groups splurging $157,000 on the race.

In the same two weeks, liberal-leaning groups spent just $63,000.

McLachlan chocked up Republican groups’ largesse in trying to dispose of him to the National Rifle Association and Rocky Mountain Gun Owners. “They’re obsessed with me,” he said. “They’re saying if you cast one vote against them, you’re going to pay for it the rest of your life. We’ll see if the voters consume that.”

Brown said the nature of outside groups’ expenditure also illuminates that while Brown’s record was front and center in the 2012 election, this cycle is all about McLachlan.

“This time, he has a record. Two years ago, he didn’t,” Brown said.

Brown said he had no idea outside groups had poured so much money into the race, saying it was a pleasant surprise Monday morning when he got into his car and heard a radio ad supporting him.

“It probably cost quite a bit to produce and air,” he said.

Of the $427,000 conservative groups have funneled into the race, $391,000 has been spent on ads attacking McLachlan and just $36,000 on ads supporting Brown.

Liberal-leaning groups, meanwhile, are playing defense. Of the $301,000 they’ve spent, $186,000 has paid for ads supporting McLachlan, and just $115,000 has funded ads attacking Brown.

Laura Carno, registered agent for Freedom Team – an IEC that’s spent $75,000 on TV and radio ads attacking McLachlan – said she expected more lucre from Democrats and Republicans to flood the 59th.

“It’s just math: For Republicans, it’s ‘How do we get a majority?’ For Democrats, it’s ‘How do we keep our majority?’ You see the money coming in because this is one of the closest races in the state. And that’s all there is,” she said.

cmcallister@durangoherald.com



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