Big money flows into key Democratic races ahead of June primary
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Ahead of next week's primary election, candidates and super PACs in Colorado are writing high-dollar checks for a final spending blitz.
Why it matters: The late infusion of campaign cash is a sign that some campaigns are nervous about their chances and looking to influence voters who are still undecided.
Driving the news: The most eye-popping spending came from three super PACs that put more than $1 million into the Democratic primary for the 1st Congressional District, the Denver Post reports.
- Much of it is propping up 29-year incumbent U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, who is facing an increasingly serious challenge from Democratic socialist Melat Kiros.
- The attack ads from the super PACs — which have yet to report most of their donors — take aim at Kiros, accusing her of making antisemitic statements and promoting an extreme agenda.
Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, who is running for governor, loaned his campaign $950,000 in late May, money that went toward TV commercials against his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Phil Weiser.
- A super PAC supporting Bennet also recently reported an additional $2 million donation from former New York mayor and presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg's total contributions to the Rocky Mountain Way political committee now top $4.6 million.
The latest: Big money is also evident in Democratic state legislative races, where moderates are battling against their more liberal rivals, the Colorado Sun reports.
- $2 million in donations came from dark-money nonprofits that don't have to report their donors.
- The money is helping boost state Rep. Sean Camacho (D-Denver) against primary challengers Iris Halpern, a civil rights attorney, and elect Democrat Andrés Carrera in Denver's state Senate District 34, where he faces a challenger from a more liberal rival, Chela Garcia Irlando.
What they're saying: "There's always been money in the primaries, but it wasn't at this level," former Senate President Steve Fenberg (D-Boulder) told the Sun.