Candidates for Routt County Commissioner and 26th Congressional District seats filed their final campaign finance reports this week before the Nov. 5 election.
The report, which details donations and expenditures and is submitted to the Colorado Secretary of State before and after Election Day, provides transparency and allows local party leaders to see how candidates are garnering support. It also gives you an opportunity to think about what you are doing.
In the commissioner race to represent District 1 South Routt County, Republican Brent Romick has raised $59,656 in campaign contributions as of Oct. 10, while Democrat Angelica Salinas has received $4 from donors. Received $3,149.
Routt County Democratic Party Chair Katherine Carson said she believes this is the first time a Routt County commissioner candidate has exceeded the $100,000 total contribution threshold.
“That’s important,” Carson said.
For Mr. Carson, the takeaway from the contributions to Mr. Salinas and Mr. Romick centered on the number of individual donors supporting each campaign and where the largest donors were located.
Carson said there were just over 200 unique donors who gave to Salinas, compared to the 94 donors who have supported Romick’s campaign, adding, “a broad and diverse pool of donors from our county. “It shows great support and great excitement for her vision and leadership.” And experience it. ”
“The interesting thing about Brent is he gets a lot of money from outside the county,” she added.
Romick’s campaign has received significant donations from individuals living outside of Routt County, including four different individuals in Brighton and Fort Lupton, Colorado, and one person in Southlake, Texas. This includes $1,425.
Although Salinas has received donations from outside the county, the county has made the largest contributions to Salinas’ campaign, including a Steamboat Springs resident who gave her $2,850 on Oct. 7. These are people who are based within.
Routt County Republican Party Vice Chair Lisa Rosintoski said Wednesday that she had not reviewed Romick’s latest campaign spending, but was concerned about the influence of campaign donors from outside the county and the 26th Congressional District. He expressed similar concerns and pointed to a list that supported state Rep. Meghan. Lukens campaign.
According to Lukens’ latest campaign finance report, as of Oct. 10, the Democrat had raised $165,236, compared to $17,552 for Republican challenger Nathan Butler. There is.
These contributions have higher individual contribution limits compared to county commissioners, including contributions from the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, an advocacy group headquartered in Washington, D.C. It includes $3,100 in gold and $2,000 from the Copic Small Donor Political Committee. $6,200 was donated by the Denver and Inglewood Realtors Small Donors Committee.
“When I look at Denver, when I look at some of the groups, when I look at other candidates who are making in-house donations, I always raise my eyebrows,” Rosintosky said. “That’s what I think as a Routt County Republican. One of the things we’re talking about is, well, I wish the money only went to the areas that the candidates represent.”
“If you look at Tracy Lawton, he doesn’t raise a lot of money at all. It’s almost all local money. I guess that can happen in rural areas, but maybe I’m just fed up.” she added.
Lawton, a Republican, is running for county commissioner in District 2 against incumbent Tim Redmond (Democratic). As of Oct. 10, Lawton had raised $6,325 in campaign support and Redmond had raised $1,000, according to campaign finance filings filed with the state.
Carson and Rosintosky provided insight into the large disparity in campaign contributions seen in the Lawton and Redmond campaigns compared to the contributions given to Romick and Salinas.
Carson said he believes the high level of contributions to Salinas and Romic is certainly a benchmark worth noting, but he doesn’t know if a single issue is driving engagement.
“I think the community is very committed to Discovery Land Company,” said Carson, whose luxury real estate company is developing hundreds of luxury homes, a private ski mountain and a private golf course in the Stagecoach area. mentioned plans.
“But there are a lot of important issues, like housing, child care, and climate issues. Routt County has always had an engaged and well-educated electorate,” she added.
Rosintoski said he believes the involvement on the Republican side is about people in rural communities trying to make sure their values are reflected in the politicians who represent them.
“Routt County is the county that Democrats want. Rural Colorado values are very different than big cities,” she says. “Rural communities, whether Democratic or Republican, should be represented when they go to the state legislature or county commissions by representatives who are focused on this part of rural Colorado.”
To search for campaign contributions and expenditures, visit the Colorado Secretary of State’s website.
Trevor Ballantyne is a city government and housing reporter. To contact him, call 970-871-4254 or email tballantyne@SteamboatPilot.com.
