Democrats Maintain Fundraising Edge in Colorado Heading to November 3

This story by Chase Woodruff appeared on Colorado Newsline on October 8, 2026.

Attorney General Phil Weiser entered the home stretch of the 2026 governor’s race with a significant financial advantage over his Republican rival, Victor Marx, disclosures show.

Weiser’s campaign raised nearly $1.7 million in the third quarter of 2026, and reported $724,879 in cash on hand as of October 1. That was Weiser’s best quarterly fundraising total since the first quarter of 2025, just after he launched his campaign for governor.

Weiser, who has served two terms as Colorado attorney general, is considered the race’s heavy favorite. He defeated U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet in the Democratic primary for governor in June, overcoming lopsided spending by a billionaire-funded super PAC supporting Bennet’s campaign.

Meanwhile, Marx, a first-time candidate and ministry leader from Colorado Springs, has struggled to sustain the pace of fundraising that helped him narrowly win a three-way race for the GOP nomination for governor. Marx’s campaign reported just over $1.1 million in contributions received in the third quarter, reporting ​​$158,176 in cash on hand as he looks to pull off an upset over Weiser.

Marx’s fundraising figures reflect more than $61,000 in overages that were refunded to contributors who gave his campaign more than the legal maximum of $1,450 per individual donor. The Elections Division of the Colorado secretary of state’s office earlier this month imposed a $57,647 fine on Marx’s campaign for those violations of state campaign finance law, and he faces another set of complaints alleging further violations in connection with his campaign’s merchandise store.

Greg Lopez, a former Republican mounting a bid for governor as an unaffiliated candidate, trailed far behind both major-party candidates with just $16,265 in cash on hand as of October 1. Lopez, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor twice before and served a six-month stint as a GOP member of Congress in 2024, has reported raising a total of about $128,000 from supporters while personally loaning his campaign another $65,000.

Election Day is November 3. The winner of the governor’s race will succeed Democratic Governor Jared Polis, who is term-limited.

Other statewide races
Republican candidates for other statewide offices have also struggled to remain financially competitive with their Democratic opponents.

Michael Allen, the El Paso County district attorney and the Republican nominee for attorney general, raised the most of any other GOP statewide nominee in the third quarter, reporting $230,913 in contributions since July 1. But that’s still less than half of the $587,708 raised over the same period by the Democratic nominee, Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who prevailed in a four-way Democratic AG primary in June.

Amanda Gonzalez, the Jefferson County clerk and recorder and the Democratic nominee for secretary of state, reported $153,896 in cash on hand as of October 1, while the campaign of her GOP opponent, James Wiley, ended the third quarter in the red, reporting a negative balance of $7,798.

State Sen. Jeff Bridges, the Democratic candidate for state treasurer, also maintained a substantial edge over GOP candidate Kevin Grantham, with $234,257 in the bank compared to the Grantham campaign’s $75,981.

Legislative fundraising and super PACs
Democratic candidates in the most competitive state legislative races also began October with a campaign fundraising advantage over their Republican rivals. Senate Districts 3, 11 and 15, along with House Districts 16, 19, and 50, are expected to be pivotal in determining the balance of power at the Capitol, where Democrats are hoping to pick up several seats and capture supermajorities in both chambers.

Across those six districts, Democrats hold a major edge in direct fundraising by candidate committees, having raised an average of more than $150,000 compared to the $88,682 collected by the average Republican nominee.

Republicans, however, have more than offset that disadvantage through spending by legislative super PACs, which can raise and spend unlimited sums of money from individuals and corporations.

The Senate Majority Fund, a group that spends on behalf of Republican state Senate candidates, has reported nearly $2.3 million so far in the 2026 election cycle. That’s compared to the $901,855 spent to date by All Together Colorado, the PAC backing Democratic senate candidates.

The Senate Majority Fund’s top donors in the 2026 cycle include two national Republican groups, GOPAC and the Republican State Leadership Committee; the Anschutz Corporation, owned by Colorado GOP megadonor Phil Anschutz; and Colorado’s two largest oil companies, Chevron and Occidental Petroleum.

Donors to All Together Colorado include the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a liberal “dark money” group, along with labor unions like the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Colorado Education Association.