As fellow RMAer Don Johnson has noted, Republican 7th Congressional contender Ryan Frazier won a small but noteworthy victory by raising more money ($218,824) in the 4th quarter than incumbent Democrat Ed Perlmutter ($215,201).
More notable is that Frazier very nearly raised as much money just from individual contributors ($215,074) as Perlmutter did altogether. The incumbent Democrat brought in nearly half his take from PACs and political committees — including PACs belonging to corporations, trade groups, trial lawyers, labor unions and various liberal interest groups ($103,100 vs. $112,101 from individuals). Even with all the special interest heft that often comes with incumbency, Ed Perlmutter was narrowly outraised by Ryan Frazier.
Of course, GOP frontrunner Frazier still has plenty of ground to make up. Perlmutter has $1,045,319 on hand, compared to Frazier’s $280,355. It’s an uphill battle for the challenger, but the momentum is slowly starting to move in the right direction.
Demonstrating individual fundraising prowess, combined with a strong showing through the Republican primary process, should eventually open up more outside group donations to Frazier’s campaign. Meanwhile, though, people who live in Colorado are speaking more loudly with their pocketbooks to support Ryan Frazier than Ed Perlmutter.
The only other active Republican candidate to file a fourth quarter FEC report was Michael Deming, who raised $229 and has $341 on hand. According to the FEC website, Lang Sias, Jimmy Lakey and Mike Sheely had no reports to file.
[…] A quick follow-up to my recent posting on the campaign reports from candidates in Colorado’s 7th Congressional District. Most notably, Republican frontrunner Ryan Frazier outraised incumbent Democrat Ed Perlmutter, despite the fact that Perlmutter gained nearly half his money from various special interest PACs. […]