October 08, 2009 08:48 AM UTC

Penry Nets Impressive Q3 Total

•  
• by: Colorado Pols

From the Denver Post, though maybe you got the text message earlier:

GOP gubernatorial candidate Josh Penry collected more than $416,000 in his first quarter of fundraising, nearly matching the total raised in the last three months by the man he is trying to unseat, Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter.

Penry, the state Senate minority leader, received $416,059, with 92 percent of that from in-state donors, campaign manager Mike Britt said.

Penry announced his total by texting his supporters the following message: “Gov. Ritter has Pres. Obamas fundraising list, but weve got you.We raised $416K from 1500 donors, 300% more than Gov. Ritters 1st qrtr thanks to you! -Josh”

An excellent total for this race by any measure. Penry’s triumphant spin is clearly directed at Bill Ritter (ridiculous as the 300% comparison may be, since Ritter’s first quarter was much earlier in the cycle in 2006 and at a time when many other Democrats were still considering running), but Ritter’s not the one who should be sweating these numbers. Primary opponent Scott McInnis needs to take ownership of this race by owning Penry on fundraising, this quarter perhaps most critically to stop Penry’s building momentum–and the bar just got set awfully high.