Hickenlooper Solidly In Front Of Q4 Fundraising

Briefly noting for those of you keeping score, incumbent Gov. John Hickenlooper completely dominated fundraising in the 2014 gubernatorial race last quarter–as the Denver Post's Lynn Bartels reports:

Gov. John Hickenlooper reported raising more than $1 million last year for his re-election campaign — although his fundraising efforts in the third quarter were aimed at raising money for flood victims.

Former Congressman Tom Tancredo raised $409,200 last year, according to his campaign, which tops the list of contributions among the six Republicans vying to unseat Hickenlooper. He has $123,620 on hand. Secretary of State Scott Gessler comes in second with cash on hand with $114,196.

Tancredo raised $191,985 last quarter, and has $109,174 on hand. Gessler raised $123,000 in the last quarter, while state Sen. Greg Brophy raised $51,595 in the last quarter and has $45,746 on hand. Former Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp, who only has been fundraising in the final quarter, raised $103,833 last quarter, and has $46,839 on hand.

FOX 31's Eli Stokols adds:

Former Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp raised $103,833 in the last fundraising quarter of 2013, according to financial reports filed Wednesday.

It was the first indication of Kopp’s fundraising ability after the candidate entered the race late enough in the third quarter that he wasn’t required to post a report…

A closer look at the candidate’s report shows that Kopp wouldn’t have hit that target if not for his own $8,217 personal check to his campaign.

With Hickenlooper at least doubling his closest GOP contender, it's a great performance–especially, as Bartels notes, much of the quarter was spent raising disaster relief funds, not campaign funds. Tom Tancredo's relatively good haul, and continued leadership of the GOP primary field in polling, helps explain why his opponents are increasingly singling him out for attacks. Meanwhile, another poor performance for Sen. Greg Brophy, who for all his recent hits on Tancredo only managed to raise $52,000 last quarter, moves him closer to the inevitable exit.

There's nothing about these numbers that should make Republicans feel good. It will take more than halving Hickenlooper's fundraising total to convince us optimistic GOP rhetoric in this race has any basis in reality.

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