Incumbent Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd, representing Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, significantly outpaced his Democratic challenger Dwayne Romero in both fundraising and spending by the end of September. According to filings with the Federal Election Commission, Hurd’s campaign had raised approximately $4 million and spent about $3.1 million by that date. In comparison, Romero’s campaign had raised roughly $1.5 million, which included nearly $500,000 in loans, and spent about $1.25 million.
Both candidates received the majority of their campaign funds from individual contributions, the Federal Election Commission filings indicate. Hurd’s campaign received approximately $2.1 million from individual donors, accounting for about 53% of all its funds. Of the approximately 1,475 itemized individual donations to Hurd’s campaign, about 59% came from individuals with Colorado addresses. Notable contributors who gave the maximum individual amount allowed in federal races, $7,000, included Peter Coors, former chairman of Molson Coors Brewing Company, his wife Marilyn Coors, and billionaire Philip Anschutz. Hurd’s campaign also received thousands of dollars in contributions from more than a dozen Native American tribes, including $7,000 from the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation in California, $5,500 from the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, and $5,000 from the Southern Ute Indian Tribe in Colorado.
Romero’s campaign, according to the filings, received about $1 million, or roughly 70% of its total funding, from individual donors. Of the 540 individual donations listed by Romero’s campaign, about 50% originated from individuals with Colorado addresses. Approximately $211,000, which is about one-fifth of his total individual donations, was raised through ActBlue, a nonprofit digital fundraising platform.
Beyond individual contributions, Hurd’s campaign also secured about $1.8 million from various groups, including political action committees. The majority of these contributions were associated with national conservative organizations and causes. Filings show his campaign received more than $580,000 from the Virginia-based Grow the Majority political action committee, $356,000 from the Defend Our Majority political action committee in Washington, D.C., and about $69,000 from the American Israel Public Affairs Political Action Committee.
Romero’s campaign, in contrast, received approximately $40,000 from political action committees, which included the Service First PAC and WinTheCenter PAC. Additionally, his campaign received about $460,000 in loans, as reported in the filings.
Rep. Jeff Hurd, a Republican, hails from Grand Junction and served as an attorney before his election to Congress. He is currently running for a second term. Challenger Dwayne Romero is a 30-year resident of the Aspen area. He owns a real estate management company, Romero Realty, and is a former U.S. Army Ranger. Romero has also served multiple terms on both the Aspen City Council and the Aspen School District Board of Education.
