Friday, March 11, 2011

Denver Candidates Raise $2 Million

The combined candidates in the Denver mayor’s race raised more than $2 million the first two months of the year.  Fundraising frontrunner Chris Romer raised a third of it and more than doubled all other candidates in his February haul ($252,000).  Romer remains the frontrunner.  City Council members Michael Hancock and Carol Boigon are in a close race for second place in fundraising.

James Mejia had a weak February and needs to step up the pace if he wants to have the funds for an April advertising campaign. Doug Linkhart and Theresa Spahn, although crossing the $100,000 threshold, are not yet viable in the money race.

The Denver Post publisher Dean Singleton said last week that he greatly admired James Mejia. Is that a hint of an endorsement? The Denver Post endorsement should boost a candidate’s name identification and fundraising clout. In fact, assuming there will be a runoff, which is likely given the number of candidates representing various constituencies, the Denver Post’s endorsement could put one of the non-frontrunners in the June 7 election. If it went to Chris Romer, he could win without a runoff.

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