Jefferson County Republican Tim Reichert, who launched his bid to represent Colorado's 7th Congressional District in January by loaning his campaign $500,000, plans to report raising an additional $339,409 during the first three months of 2022, bringing his total receipts for the quarter to nearly $840,000, his campaign told Colorado Politics.
Reichert is one of at least three Republicans vying for the nomination in the competitive seat, which has been held for eight terms by retiring U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, an Arvada Democrat.
The economist and founder and CEO of the Denver-based consulting firm Economics Partners ended the quarter with $711,555 in the bank after spending $127,854, his campaign said.
“When I got into this race I knew my background as an economist would position me in a way to truly speak on how we can grow our middle class and get our economy back to work," Reichert said in a statement. "What I didn’t anticipate was the outpouring of support we would receive and the generosity from people who want to send an economist to Washington."
He added that his fundraising total out of the gate demonstrates that his campaign has the momentum to win the primary and prevail in November.
Reichert was the first candidate to qualify for the June 28 GOP primary ballot after learning in late March that he gathered more than enough petition signatures from fellow Republicans in the district.
State Sen. Brittany Pettersen, a Lakewood Democrat, secured her party's nomination for the seat last week at a party assembly, where she faced only nominal opposition.
While she has yet to release her fundraising total for the quarter, Pettersen reported in January that she had more than $200,000 in hand just five days after announcing her candidacy, including almost $45,000 left over from a brief run for the same office in 2018.
Reports covering the three-month period that ended March 31 are due to the Federal Election Commission by April 15.
Following last year's once-a-decade redistricting process, the 7th CD now covers Jefferson County, Broomfield and six mountain counties stretching south past Cañon City. According to the independent redistricting commission, Democrats hold a 6.9-point advantage in recent benchmark races, though both national parties have added the seat on their lists of battleground races and say it's up for grabs this November.
The other Republicans who have made the primary ballot are Army veteran and former oil and gas executive Erik Aadland, who switched to the race from a crowded U.S. Senate primary late last year, and former legislative candidate Laurel Imer, who has made her allegiance to former President Donald Trump and his policies a focus of her campaign. Both qualified for the primary at last week's district assembly, where Aadland won top-line on the ballot by finishing in the lead with 63% of the delegate vote, ahead of Imer's 34%.
Aadland finished 2021 with about $15,000 on hand, while his campaign had nearly $100,000 in debt. Imer reported about $5,000 in the bank at the end of last year. Neither candidate has yet released fundraising totals for the most recent quarter.
Two other Republican hopefuls — Teller County construction company owner Carl Andersen and Golden attorney Brad Dempsey — turned in petitions last month and are awaiting word from the Colorado Secretary of State whether they submitted enough valid signatures to make the primary ballot.
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