February 02, 2024 12:05 PM UTC

Colorado Republican Party "Outraises" Democratic Party (Ignore the Fine Print)

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• by: Colorado Pols

The Colorado Republican Party had a rough year in 2023 in more ways than one, but particularly when it comes to finances. The State GOP reached an all-time low in fundraising and had trouble coming up with enough money to even keep the lights on in their South Denver office, while Chairman Dave Williams created a “consulting” business in order to pay himself a salary without actually saying he was paying himself a salary.

Things appear to have gone from bad to “less bad” for the State GOP. As The Colorado Sun reports in its “Unaffiliated” newsletter, the Colorado Republican Party appears to have outraised out-grifted the Colorado Democratic Party in the last two months of 2023:

The Colorado GOP outraised the Colorado Democratic Party in December for the second month in a row, though about two-thirds of the $121,000 raised by Republicans came from three presidential candidates who paid a fee to get on the March primary ballot.

Ryan Binkley, a Texas pastor, paid the Colorado GOP $40,000 while former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson each paid $20,000. Christie and Hutchinson have suspended their campaigns, but will still appear on Colorado’s ballot.

The party is requiring the Republican presidential primary candidates either pay $40,000 or pay $20,000 and visit Colorado or hold a fundraiser for the party to be on the March ballot. The money is nonrefundable. [Pols emphasis]

In the last two months of 2023, the Colorado Republican Party reported raising a total of $312,807…but more than half of that total ($160,000) came from the Colorado GOP’s bizarre ballot access fee grift for Presidential candidates (including this “Ryan Binkley” person). Without that money, the Colorado GOP actually raised $152,807 in November and December 2023. Here’s what the contributions and expenditures for each major political party in Colorado look like without the GOP grifting:

As The Colorado Sun also makes clear, fundraising numbers from the State GOP should also be taken with some healthy grains of salt considering their overall lack of transparency:

Hutchinson’s payment wasn’t revealed until The Sun asked about it and the Colorado GOP consequently amended its December campaign finance report, which was filed this week.

Additionally, former UN ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley paid the Colorado GOP $40,000 on Nov. 1, 2023, but the state party didn’t report the payment in its last two monthly campaign finance filings with the Federal Election Commission until The Sun asked about the money.

Party Treasurer Tom Bjorklund told The Sun the contribution “was simply missed,” and that he amended the party’s November report Thursday to reflect the payment.

The Colorado GOP has received a total of $220,000 in ballot-access fees from seven presidential candidates since September. [Pols emphasis]

Oh, you mean THAT $20,000 check!

Colorado Democrats ended 2023 with about $194,000 cash on hand, compared with $664,000 for Colorado Republicans. But, again, it’s important to remember that Colorado Democrats and Chair Shad Murib have been spending money to put organizers and campaigns in place in battleground congressional districts (in CO-03 and CO-08) and in swingier areas of the state (like Pueblo).

It remains to be seen whether or not the Colorado GOP can figure out a way to keep the checks coming now that there is no further way to extort money from Republican Presidential hopefuls in 2024. Because when it comes to the nuts and bolts of campaigning, Colorado Republicans only have the nuts.