Nearly $20M in campaign cash flows to Colorado Democratic congressional candidates

Democratic candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives in Colorado have raised a combined total of nearly $20 million so far in 2025 as they look to flip one or more Republican-controlled seats in the 2026 midterms.

The combined fundraising haul is nearly triple the size of the total raised by Colorado’s four incumbent GOP members of Congress, each of whom has already drawn at least one well-funded challenger as Democrats look to win back control of the House next year.

By contrast, the state’s four Democratic House incumbents have so far drawn only token opposition from candidates who have yet to report any fundraising activity to the Federal Election Commission.

To date, Democratic donors have showered the most campaign cash on the Colorado congressional race that analysts say they are the least likely to win: in the 4th Congressional District, where U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert won a 12-percentage-point victory over Democrat Trisha Calvarese in 2024. The district’s nine-point GOP lean, according to the Cook Political Report’s Partisan Voting Index, makes it the most heavily Republican district in Colorado.

Eileen Laubacher, a retired Navy rear admiral and former National Security Council official, has raised more than $4.4 million since announcing her 4th District candidacy in May, more than triple Boebert’s haul over the same period. Repeating a pattern set by previous challengers to Boebert, a controversial far-right figure with a national profile, the vast majority of Laubacher’s campaign receipts have come from out-of-state donors and small-dollar contributions through digital fundraising sites like ActBlue, according to FEC disclosures. The 4th District stretches across most of the state’s rural Eastern Plains region, along with a handful of more suburban areas in Douglas, Weld and Larimer counties.

“I’ve listened to veterans driving hours for care they’ve earned, hospitals struggling to keep their doors open, and families hit by rising costs. Lauren Boebert ignores them,” Laubacher said in a statement on her fundraising haul. “She won’t show up, won’t answer their questions, and won’t lift a finger in Congress to help. I will. I’ll show up, I’ll listen, and I’ll fight for real solutions for the people of this district.”

Calvarese has also raised more than $640,000 in 2025 as she seeks a rematch with Boebert, and a third Democratic hopeful, John Padora, has reported $350,000 in receipts, bringing the Democrats’ combined 4th District haul to well over $5 million.

That’s substantially more money than has been raised so far by the combined Democratic field in the tossup 8th District, where incumbent GOP Rep. Gabe Evans eked out a victory by fewer than 2,500 votes last year. The district includes suburban areas in north metro Denver along with more rural areas in Weld County.

State Rep. Manny Rutinel of Commerce City continues to maintain a large fundraising lead over a crowded field of Democratic primary hopefuls in the 8th District. Since launching his campaign in January, he’s raised over $2 million, and he reported just over $1 million in cash on hand as of Sept. 30.

In a press release, Rutinel boasted of a third-quarter fundraising total that exceeded Evans’ haul, though the Fort Lupton Republican reported far more cash on hand, amassing over $1.9 million as he waits for a Democratic challenger to emerge from the June 30 primary.

“We’re building the strongest campaign to defeat Gabe Evans, and that starts with raising the resources to win,” Rutinel said. “I’m proud that our campaign is backed by thousands of teachers, firefighters, ranchers, nurses, small business owners, and so many more that have chipped in a few dollars at a time.”

Another Democratic candidate in the 8th District, state Rep. Shannon Bird of Westminster, trails Rutinel with about $560,000 in cash on hand, having raised about $833,000 since launching her campaign in May. She touted a high percentage of contributions coming from Colorado donors in a press release Thursday.

“I’m grateful that Coloradans are uniting behind our campaign to fire Gabe Evans,” Bird said. “Together, we’ll flip this seat and lower costs, expand healthcare, and protect our Colorado way of life.”

After former 8th District Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo dropped her bid to win back her seat last month, three other Democrats remain in the primary race. As of Sept. 30, Evan Munsing, a Marine veteran and private equity consultant, has raised $260,603; Colorado State Treasurer Dave Young has raised $164,392; and Amie Baca-Oehlert, former president of the Colorado Education Association, has raised $129,823.

Republicans favored in 3rd, 5th districts

Two other first-term Republican incumbents — Rep. Jeff Hurd of Grand Junction in the 3rd District, and Rep Jeff Crank of Colorado Springs in the 5th District — are considered favorites to win reelection, but could be in jeopardy if there’s a wave election for Democrats. As of this month, both races are rated as likely Republican by the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

Hurd’s lone Democratic challenger, financial executive Alex Kelloff, trails far behind the incumbent in fundraising so far in 2025, having collected about $459,000 in receipts while loaning his campaign another $220,000. Hurd, who has raised over $1.9 million, also faces a conservative primary challenger in Hope Scheppelman, a former state GOP vice chair, who has raised about $169,000 since her June campaign launch. The 3rd District encompasses most of Colorado’s Western Slope, along with the San Luis Valley and the greater Pueblo area.

Jessica Killin, an Army veteran and political operative, leads three other candidates for the Democratic nomination the 5th District. Her third-quarter fundraising total of over $1 million was more than double Crank’s reported haul, which Killin said in a statement showed an appetite within the district, which is centered on Colorado Springs, for “new leadership that is responsive to the needs of this community.”

“(Crank) lost Space Command, added $4 trillion to the national debt, and continues to put partisanship over the people of the Pikes Peak region,” Killin said. “I’m so grateful for this support that will help us flip Colorado’s 5th district together and restore competence, courage, and character to Washington.”