DENVER — In Denver's mayoral and City Council elections, those with the most money in their campaign coffers most often won or are moving onto a run-off, but not in every race, 9Wants to Know has found.
9Wants to Know compared campaign finance data in the April 4 municipal election with the most recent unofficial results, which will be certified on April 20. However, almost all ballots were included in the unofficial results released Friday.
In the mayoral race, both candidates slated to make the runoff, Mike Johnston and Kelly Brough, led their competitors in fundraising and brought in millions of dollars, according to Denver campaign finance data.
Johnston raised more than $3.54 million and Brough raised $2.41 million from direct donations, Fair Election Fund disbursements, and Independent Expenditure (IE) spending by outside individuals and groups.
Johnston and Brough had sizable help from IE committees, which Lucille Wenegieme, a spokesperson for the Denver Clerk and Recorder’s office, said can’t coordinate with candidates and aren't held to the same donation limits.
> Hover your mouse to see the total contributions by category in the graphic below. Made by 9NEWS data producer Zack Newman.
Johnston benefited from $2.2 million in spending from Advancing Denver – and 93% of the group's spending spree in March went to media buys, 9Wants to Know found.
Advancing Denver was bankrolled by about two dozen people including LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, who gave a total $904,679.90; former DaVita CEO Kent Thiry, who gave $300,000, and Connecticut-based hedge fund manager Steve Mandel, who gave $250,450.
Brough benefited from nearly a million dollars in advertisements and canvassing sponsored by A Better Denver – 82% of the $984,284 spent by the group went toward getting the word out about Brough.
A Better Denver got much of its funding from the world of real estate. The National Association of Realtors Fund gave a total of $471,156, Colorado Construction Industry Coalition gave $40,000 and the Associated General Contractors of Colorado Building Chapter contributed $37,500.
Lisa Calderón finished third in unofficial voting tallies, despite falling behind in fundraising compared with her competitors.
VIEW: Denver election results
City Council at-large race
City Council at-large candidate Travis Leiker raised $734,631, the most of any candidate in the race, and he finished fourth after getting about 15%, or at least 38,757, of the votes.
Leiker benefited from $324,065 in IE spending and received most of that support, $116,229, from the group Citizens for a Great Denver.
That organization has vague benefactors – a nonprofit called Forward Denver is the sole donor. Colorado Secretary of State records show the company was created in May 2022 but not many other details were shown.
> Hover your mouse to see the total contributions by category. Graphic made by 9NEWS data producer Zack Newman.
State Rep. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez won the largest share of votes in the race for the two open at-large City Council seats. She captured at least 52,981 votes, or about 21%, but raised the third-most money with $381,099.
Most of her funding, $220,653, came from the Fair Election Fund, which utilizes tax dollars to match campaign donations of $50 or less by a 9-to-1 ratio, according to the Denver Clerk and Recorder website.
Sarah Parady won the other at-large seat. She took 17% of the vote and raised the second-most funds with $467,976.
VIEW: Denver election results
Other City Council races
Of the top five fundraising candidates in the other City Council races, all either won or made the run-off.
Diana Romero Campbell raised the most, $344,820, and won her District 4 race with about 57% of the vote.
Servicios Sigue, the political arm of the Latino healthcare group Servicios de La Raza, spent $72,891 to support Campbell. A variety of unions, including firefighters and police, supported Campbell through their IEs, as did the organization One Main Street Denver.
> Hover your mouse to see the total contributions by category. Graphic made by 9NEWS data producer Zack Newman.
Kevin Flynn defended his District 2 seat with 72% of the vote. He raised $306,122, the third-most of candidates in City Council races other than the at-large race.
Darrell Watson raised the second-most, $325,175, and is in a close race for the District 9 seat with incumbent Candi CdeBaca, who raised the fifth-most with $199,503.
That race is slated to go to a run-off between the top two finishers if no candidate receives 50% of the vote. CdeBaca had 44% and Watson had 43% as of Friday evening.
Brad Revare won at least 34% of the vote in District 8 and raised the fourth-most of City Council candidates with $207,622. It appears as though he is slated for a run-off against Shontel M. Lewis, who as of Friday led Revare by 314 votes.
Auditor race
In the Denver auditor race, incumbent Timothy O’Brien cruised to victory with 59% of votes as of Friday.
His challenger, Erik Clarke, raised $145,314.89 in contributions to his campaign and from disbursements from the Fair Elections Fund. O’Brien raised $7,620.71.
VIEW: Denver election results
Ballot measures
Referred Measure 2O, which would have allowed developers who own the former Park Hill Golf Course to move forward with their plans, was rejected by 59% of voters.
Nearly $1 million was spent to support the measure and $133,823 to oppose it, according to Denver Searchlight.
No money was spent for or against the tweaks to the Denver charter related to zoning. 2M and 2N both passed.
Reach investigative reporter Zack Newman at 303-548-9044. You can also call or text securely on Signal through that same number. Email: zack.newman@9news.com. Call or text is preferred over email.
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