Outside groups spent $135,000 to bring down Vivian Smotherman
Colorado State Senate District 6 candidates Sen. Cleve Simpson (R-Alamosa) and Sen. Vivian Smotherman (D-Durango).
With four weeks left until the November election, money is pouring into the Colorado Senate District 6 runoff race.
Incumbent Sen. Cleve Simpson, R-Alamosa, accepted the state’s voluntary spending limits and raised just over the $141,975 cap.
He thwarted a challenge from Durango Democrat Vivian Smotherman, who is seeking to unseat the one-term state senator in a race that could push state House Democrats beyond their 24-seat supermajority. are.
Smotherman raised nearly $60,000 and loaned $12,600 to his campaign.
As of Sept. 30, Simpson had $89,000 in the bank, more cash than all but two candidates running for state Senate this year. Only seven candidates have raised more money than him this cycle.
District 6 extends across southwestern Colorado, from the San Luis Valley to the Utah border in the west, and from the New Mexico border in the north to parts of Saguash and Montrose counties. Simpson ran for the seat representing District 35 in 2020, but due to redistricting, he will be running in SD6 for the first time in this election.
Mr. Simpson opted for a spending cap when running for re-election. When Smotherman entered the race, he had a 10-day grace period to opt out of the binding contract, but did not accept the same restriction. Simpson chose to continue the race with his cap on.
“My calculation was that I could put together a thoughtful and committed campaign that could accept voluntary spending limits and convince voters that I was the right choice on the ballot.” Mr. Simpson said.
Smotherman, a political novice, said he decided not to accept the restrictions because someone at the Colorado Secretary of State’s office advised him not to.
Colorado State Senate District 6 candidate Sen. Cleve Simpson has raised about $300 more than the $142,000 voluntary spending limit he accepted for his campaign. (Reuben M. Shafir/Durango Herald file)
Accepting voluntary spending limits confers one privilege on candidates. That means we can accept donations up to twice the donation limit. This means that Mr. Simpson can accept contributions of up to $450 from individuals in his Senate campaign, instead of $225.
This provision did not go into effect until Simpson’s opponent raised 10% of the spending limit, or $14,200. And Ms. Smotherman only crossed that threshold sometime in August, by which time Ms. Simpson had already collected nearly $57,000, according to her financial report filed Sept. 3. Ta.
Of the 69 candidates who filed to run for state Senate this year (including at least 13 who have canceled their campaigns), 25, or just over a third, accepted spending limits. Eleven of these candidates were Republicans, five were Libertarians, four were Democrats, and the rest were members of other third parties.
Three candidates (two Republicans and one Democrat) who initially accepted the restrictions later withdrew after their challengers offered to run and chose not to run.
Vivian Smotherman, a candidate for Colorado State Senate District 6, has raised nearly $60,000 as of Sept. 30 (Reuben M. Schafir/Durango Herald file).
money comes in from outside
Mr. Simpson’s spending cap is $142,000, but outside groups that cannot coordinate with him can and are spending significantly more on the race.
The Senate Majority Fund, a state-level super PAC supporting Republican state Senate candidates, spent nearly $135,000 on SD6.
The group received a $550,000 donation from Colorado Dawn, a conservative underground finance group based in Colorado Springs, but the donor has not been disclosed. The Senate Majority Fund also received $1 million from the federal department of the same name. This cycle, the PAC has accepted five-figure donations from companies such as Chevron, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Anheuser-Busch and Amazon.
The Senate Majority Fund was behind a series of mailers sent out across the district, including one criticizing Mr. Smotherman’s fiscal irresponsibility.
The Postmaster also cited a lien placed on her property in New Mexico in 2005, the fact that Ms. Smotherman’s wages were garnished to pay child support in 1998, and this year a settlement of delinquent taxes owed to La Plata County. Emphasized payment.
However, in New Mexico, the non-custodial parent’s wages are automatically garnished for child support. Ms Smotherman said her tax bill is likely to be paid later this year, but it has already been paid.
La Plata County records show that $1,100 in taxes and $45 in interest was paid on Sept. 4, 15 days before the commission paid Axiom Strategies for the campaign materials, but the author was Records show that the payment was made approximately 10 days after confirmation.
Ms. Smotherman called the late payment “further proof that I am a working-class candidate.”
Colorado Politics reported last week that Mr. Smotherman spent about $1,000 of his campaign funds on clothing and cosmetics, noting that such expenditures meant that the candidate was “spending donations for personal purposes not reasonably related to the candidate’s campaign.” He questioned whether it complied with the state’s regulation that states “must not be used.”
Simpson said he is not allowed to coordinate with PACs that spend money on races, but wants to avoid negative campaigning. He intended to spend the war chest on standard campaign materials such as mailers and radio ads during the remaining four weeks.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
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