Denver, CO Mayor: We haven’t seen any recent polling to suggest which two candidates will advance out of Tuesday’s 16-way nonpartisan primary to succeed termed-out Mayor Michael Hancock, but AdImpact’s AdVantage newsletter reported on Friday that 80% of the spending for commercials comes from just two contenders and their respective super PAC allies: former state Sen. Mike Johnston and his fellow Democrat, former Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce CEO Kelly Brough.
The biggest spender by far is Advancing Denver, a super PAC allied with Johnston that has deployed $2.1 million. Denverite says the group is primarily funded by Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn co-founder and Democratic mega donor, while it’s also received money from former Davita CEO Kent Thiry and hedge fund manager Steve Mandel. AdImpact also reports that Johnston’s own campaign has spent $400,000.
Another $800,000 each comes from Brough, who served as Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper's chief of staff when he was mayor in the 2000s, and her allies at A Better Denver. The PAC has received a plurality of its funding from the National Association of REALTORS, a group that’s long aided candidates from both parties.
A number of other notable candidates are also in the hunt here, though they’ve spent relatively little. The field includes three sitting elected officials: state Sen. Chris Hansen, state Rep. Leslie Herod, and City Councilwoman Debbie Ortega. Also in the running are criminal justice activist Lisa Calderon, investment banker Trinidad Rodriguez, environmental activist Ean Tafoya, and businessman Andy Rougeout, who is the only Republican campaigning in this dark blue city. A June 6 runoff would take place in the all-but-certain event that no one earns a majority of the vote on Tuesday.