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Udall, Schaffer set Senate fundraising record

By Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 9, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Democrat Mark Udall raised $12.6 million in his successful bid for the U.S. Senate, while Republican opponent Bob Schaffer raised nearly $7.4 million.

But Schaffer ended the campaign debt-free, while Udall still owes $231,177, according to campaign finance reports released Monday.

Udall and Schaffer set the record for the most money ever raised by a Colorado U.S. Senate candidate from their party - no surprise, given that each U.S. Senate campaign is more expensive than the last.

Udall's take includes $1.26 million he transferred to his Senate campaign from his congressional campaign account.

Monday was the deadline for federal candidates to file campaign finance reports with the Federal Election Commission. The reports cover contributions and expenses from Oct. 16 through Nov. 24.

"We'll pay off our debt in the coming months," said Udall spokeswoman Tara Trujillo.

Schaffer's campaign manager, Dick Wadhams, estimated that after the final bills are paid, Schaffer will have about $100,000 on hand.

The campaigns provided a summary of expenses and contributions, not detailed reports listing each expenditure.

In addition to money spent by the campaigns, outside groups spent about $27 million on the race, mostly on attack ads.

Comments

  • December 9, 2008

    10:14 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    HopiMedicineMan writes:

    Lynn,
    What are the permissable uses for Schaffer's $100,000 and what did Wadhams say is the most likely application?

  • December 16, 2008

    10:53 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    ES writes:

    Mark Udall got most of his money from 7 people. All from Aspen. All originally from California.

    A real reporter would ask some questions and dug into who was financing the Democratic Party in Colorado. None of them are from Colorado.

    We need to stop the people who are fleeing from California Politics and going into Colorado. Then we need to stop them from turning Colorado into New York and California. This is a good state. If you are leaving a state because it's falling apart; don't move into a new state and turn into the one your running from. Failed California politics will not work in Colorado. Udall is failed California Politics.