May 27, 2012 01:58 AM UTC

Good Fundraising Period for Sias; Hudak Still Leads

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• by: Colorado Pols

Although Republican Lang Sias hauled in more than twice as much money this period as State Senator Evie Hudak in the hyper-competitive SD-19 race, the incumbent still enjoys a 3-1 fundraising advantage.

In the filing period ending on May 2nd, Sias raised a whopping $23,600, spending just $2,000 of that. While that number is certainly nothing to shrug off, it’s important to remember that this was the first full period since Sias declared his candidacy. As such, Sias’ remarkable haul could be the exception, not the rule — the first fundraising quarter of any candidate tends to be their strongest because the “low-hanging fruit” is the easiest to pick off.

In the same period, Hudak brought in $11,500. While it’s only half of Sias’ total for the same period, it’s certainly respectable. Hudak has, after all, been preoccupied with the actual business of legislating, and her elected duties certainly limited the amount of time she had to campaign and raise money. Like Sias, Hudak only spent about $2,000.

In total, Hudak’s raised $73,000 and has about $55,000 on hand. Sias has raised $25,000 with $22,000 of that still in the bank.

Sias has ground to make up on Hudak. If he continues to outraise the incumbent by a factor of 2, however, he should be able to considerably narrow the gap. It’s unlikely that Sias will continue to best Hudak by such large margins — given that all the low-hanging fruit has already been harvested — but considering that Hudak represents a seat that leans Republican, Sias may not have too hard a time finding new donors.

Of course, that same competitiveness means that neither Hudak nor Sias will have to worry about their own numbers costing them the race: outside money will continue to pour into the district and will likely shift the campaign more than the respective fundraising numbers of either candidate.