(
From the diaries -- kos)
The second quarter fundraising numbers for the Colorado Senate race are now available, and Ken Salazar leads all candidates in the money race, just as he does in the polls. Salazar raised $2 million in the quarter and has $1.6 million on hand, while his closest rival, Peter Coors, raised $1.6 million and has only $760,000 on hand.
Salazar's fundraising puts him in the top rank of all Democratic Senate candidates in the country. He has raised as much money in four months as Tom Strickland did in eleven months for the 2002 race. His donor list includes 2,000 Coloradans who contributed less than $100 each.
Coors has not been spending his own personal cash on the race, yet. His fundraising effectiveness is probably due to connections in the network of right wing "think" tanks and advocacy groups. His relative lack of cash on hand is likely due to his ongoing TV commercial buys in the Denver market, where he argues the Senate doesn't need another lawyer. (Evidently what they do need is another hereditary millionaire.)
I was surprised Miles did not even break the $100,000 threshold. While perhaps he would be doing better if Salazar had not entered the race, he seems to be confirming all of the fears of the state Party establishment had about his viability, and I feel like I should personally apologize to Chris Gates for ever questioning his motives in looking for another candidate. With Miles now cancelling a fundraiser due to lack of interest, one has to wonder if he will still be an active candidate as of the August 10 primary. (Should have run those Blogads, Mike!)
Schaffer continues to be the wild card in all of this. He has raised just under half a million and has less than $200,000 on hand. He may not be able to overcome Coors' name recognition and Denver metro TV ads, although even with all of those ads Coors' lead is small and about a third of the GOP voters are still undecided. Schaffer has been sending mailings to likely Republican voters and has access to the religious-right GOTV network, which could make things interesting on that side.