Donations to Dem increase

Fawcett still behind Lamborn in funding for battle in 5th CD

Dick Foster, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 17, 2006 at midnight

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COLORADO SPRINGS - The red-hot race for Colorado's 5th Congressional District has led to a flood of contributions to Democratic challenger Jay Fawcett in the once-safe Republican stronghold.

But Republicans still wield a huge advantage in both registered voters and financial support for the party's candidate, State Sen. Doug Lamborn, in the latest federal election financial reports.

Fawcett and Lamborn are pitted in a race to replace retiring Republican Rep. Joel Hefley, who held the seat virtually unchallenged for 20 years.

Fawcett collected more than $123,000 from July 20 through Sept. 30, the latest reporting period, bringing his campaign total to more than $274,000.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman Rahm Emanuel hinted Monday that more money could be coming to Fawcett and other close Colorado races, but would not elaborate.

While Democrats might be encouraged by Fawcett's numbers, they are less than half of what Lamborn has raised.

Lamborn reported more than $286,000 in contributions in the latest reporting period and more than $597,000 for the entire campaign.

Lamborn's numbers reflected the lopsided 2-to-1 Republican advantage in the district, with 243 contributions compared with Fawcett's 127.

Lamborn also received big donations from business-oriented political action committees in and around Washington, D.C., many of them donating $10,000 each.

Fawcett had only one $10,000 contribution and a few in the lower thousands, mostly from organized labor.

Fawcett received a significant amount of money through ActBlue, a Cambridge, Mass., Internet site that forwards individual contributions from around the country to the donor's chosen candidates.

Nearly 2,000 individual contributors have donated more than $23,000 to Fawcett through the Internet site.

Top Contributors:

To Republican Doug Lamborn

• (Automobile) Dealers Election Action CommitteeMcLean, Va. $10,000

• ERISA Industry Committee PAC, Washington, D.C., $10,000

• Independent Commercial Bankers PAC, Washington, D.C., $10,000

• Keep Our Majority PAC, Alexandria, Va., $10,000

• Minuteman PAC, Reston, Va., $9,000

To Democrat Jay Fawcett

• United Food and Commercial Workers International PAC, Washington, D.C., $10,000

• Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 502 Political Action Fund, Louisville, Ky., $5,000

• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers PAC, Washington, D.C., $5,000.