Final campaign finance report before Election Day shows Republican spending ramping up in Senate District 5
(Larry Robinson/The Daily Sentinel
Republicans are pouring money into the race for Colorado Senate District 5 in the final weeks of the election, according to the last round of contribution reports before Election Day.
Senate District 5 stretches from the Interstate 70 corridor in Garfield County through the Roaring Fork Valley into Hinsdale County near the southern border of the state. It includes the entirety of Pitkin, Gunnison, and Hinsdale counties and portions of Delta, Montrose, Garfield, and Eagle counties.
The election between Democrat Cole Buerger, a Glenwood Springs business owner, and Republican Marc Catlin, a Montrose state representative, could determine whether Democrats gain a supermajority in the General Assembly next year.
During the most recent reporting period, from Oct. 10 to 23, Catlin outspent Buerger by more than $25,000. While Buerger was initially outspending his opponent, that changed over the past month.
Catlin has spent a total of $122,000 and Buerger has spent $76,000 so far. Buerger has about $61,000 remaining to spend and Catlin has about $17,500.
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In the most recent reporting period, outside groups spent another $1.8 million on the race. That’s in addition to more than $2 million already spent by outside groups in the election.
The vast majority of that spending has come from two groups: All Together Colorado, the state Senate Democratic campaign arm, and that group’s Republican counterpart, Senate Majority Fund.
During the latest period, Senate Majority Fund spent $1.2 million in the race while All Together Colorado spent about $500,000.
Another campaign finance report on the final days of the election will be filed Dec. 10.
