Yadira Caraveo, Trisha Calvarese and other Democrats hold big cash advantage in Colorado congressional races

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Another election cycle, another distinct Democratic fundraising advantage in Colorado’s congressional races.

Colorado’s Democratic candidates for Congress have reported raising more than $34 million this election cycle, according to new federal campaign finance reports that were due Tuesday night. That’s more than triple what Republicans have reported.

The eight Democratic nominees combined for nearly $11 million left in cash on hand as of Sept. 30, the end of the period covered by the latest reports. Republicans, in contrast, had less than a quarter of that sum — about $2.5 million total — in their accounts.

Even removing Adam Frisch’s juggernaut fundraising in the 3rd Congressional District — $16.9 million total in this cycle, following his closer-than-expected loss to U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert in 2022 — Democrats have held a decisive advantage since early last year. In the other seven districts, they have reported raising about $17.4 million to Republicans’ total fundraising of about $10.7 million.

Not all districts are created equal, however. Democrats occupy five of the state’s seats in Congress, with Republicans in the other three. Only one district, the 8th — which runs from around Commerce City north to Greeley — is deemed truly competitive by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

Ballots went out to voters in the last week and must be returned by Election Day on Nov. 5 to count.

Massive outside spending in Caraveo-Evans race

In the 8th District, state Rep. Gabe Evans, the Republican, hopes to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo. She won the inaugural contest for that new seat by fewer than 2,000 votes in 2022. It’s widely considered one of the races that could help determine control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Caraveo entered the homestretch of the race with more than $2.3 million left to spend as of Sept. 30, after raising more than $6.7 million this cycle. Evans had just over $800,000 left after raising about $2 million.

Even more money has flowed into that race from third-party groups, according to federal filings, including nearly $4.5 million that has been spent in the first two weeks of October alone.

All said, outside groups have reported spending nearly $9 million to support Caraveo or oppose Evans. About $2.8 million has been spent on the other side to support Evans or oppose Caraveo.

The biggest outside spender in that race — even bigger than the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — has so far been the super PAC FairShake, according to federal filings. The super PAC advocates for blockchain technology and supports a bipartisan slate of candidates, including Caraveo in this race. It has spent more than $2 million on the 8th District so far, about $60,000 more than the Democratic committee.

Super PACs can raise and spend an unlimited sum of money, though they cannot coordinate with candidates. FairShake’s largest donors are the cryptocurrency platform Coinbase and Ripple, a blockchain-based financial institution.

Boebert’s race sees an influx of blue dollars

In Colorado’s 4th District, the most Republican in the state in terms of partisan dynamics, Democrat Trisha Calvarese has hauled in more than $3 million in her bid to oust Boebert from Congress. Calvarese’s fundraising is now 10 times as much as the last Democratic nominee pulled in there during the 2022 race.

But it’s also a much different race this time in the district, which takes in much of the Eastern Plains and Douglas County. Boebert, a lightning rod for controversy who now represents the 3rd District on the Western Slope, switched districts after her razor-close reelection win over Frisch two years ago.

Calvarese, who secured the Democratic nomination in the June 25 primary over perennial candidate Ike McCorkle, saw an immediate boom in her fundraising. She raised nearly $2.7 million from July to Sept. 30 — five times the $532,000 Boebert reported raising in that same time period.

While Boebert’s likely partisan advantage is greater in her new district than in the old one, the fervent opposition to her has helped Calvarese air ads and run a more sophisticated operation than Democrats historically have in the 4th District.

The Democrat also entered the final weeks of the campaign with a cash advantage over Boebert, about $1.3 million to nearly $550,000. Boebert, who faced a crowded primary to win the nomination, has reported spending more than $5 million through the election cycle.

Boebert’s old district is still most-moneyed

Democrat Adam Frisch landed in the national spotlight after falling to Boebert by less than 600 votes in a race that she, on paper, should have won by tens of thousands of votes. The prospects of a rematch rocketed him into the top 10 most prolific fundraisers among all House candidates, giving Frisch a cash advantage that no Colorado candidate has come close to meeting — even after Boebert switched districts last December.

After raising nearly $17 million this cycle, Frisch started October with more than $2 million on hand. His opponent, Republican nominee Jeff Hurd, reported about $700,000 in cash at the end and has raised more than $2.2 million through the election cycle.

Despite the huge cash advantage and the near-upset two years ago, the Cook Political Report still ranks the race as “likely Republican.” It upped its forecast of Republicans’ chances after Boebert left the race.