May 21, 2012 07:03 PM UTC

Melton Handily Outraising Todd in HD-41 Primary

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• by: Colorado Pols

If Democrat Jovan Melton wasn’t considered the frontrunner in his primary campaign against Terry Todd after taking over 60% of the vote at March’s county assembly, it’s certainly safe to award him the title now.

In the fundraising period ending May 2nd, Melton hauled in nearly $12,000, spending about $7,500. That’s a healthy burn rate in consideration of the June primary about a month a way – with nearly $7,000 on hand, Melton can spend as much money as he thinks he needs to take down Todd in June. He’ll have to continue bringing in cash, of course, but that shouldn’t be a problem for the political staffer. Indeed, Melton has demonstrated that he can count on many of his previous political colleagues to both write checks and raise money – former Romer for Mayor campaign Manager Adam Dunstone has written Melton a check, as has former Denver mayoral candidates Carol Boigon and James Mejia, influential Denver attorney Cole Finegan, and political consultant David Cole. The list goes on and on. Based off of Melton’s fundraising list alone, it’s no logical leap to label him the “establishment candidate” – odd considering his opponent is the husband of the incumbent.

For his part, Terry Todd raised a paltry $2,400 in the same fundraising period, adding to the $6,500 he had on hand from the start. Of that, Todd spent about $5,200, leaving the former educator with about $3,650.

Things look bleak for Todd, to say the least. Melton has nearly twice as much money in reserve to play around with in the next month – the most important time to connect with voters before the election. While Todd’s numbers aren’t necessarily anemic, they certainly pale in comparison to Melton’s: Melton has raised about $18,000 compared to $10,700 for Todd. In fact, Melton has spent $500 more than Todd’s even brought in to date.

Money isn’t everything in political campaigns: Todd’s name ID is nothing to scoff at in his wife’s district, and we’re sure Nancy is doing everything she can to eke out a win for her husband. Still, if your opponent is outraising and outspending you at every stage of a campaign – and if he has twice as much money as you at the stage where money matters most – the odds aren’t in your favor.

And if Terry Todd is struggling to win a Democratic primary for his wife’s seat, what does that say about the incumbent? Nancy Todd only faces nominal Republican opposition in her bid for Senate District 28, but her own political capital will take a sizable hit if Jovan Melton seizes the Democratic nomination for her old House seat on June 26.