Hundreds of thousands of dollars from a group that appears to be maneuvering to hide its donors are pouring into the state Senate Democratic primary in Aurora, raising questions about the organization’s intentions and how they may affect the trajectory of the race.
Representation Matters has spent $271,000 so far on billboards, digital ads and polls to help Aurora attorney Idris Keith in his Senate District 28 race against state Rep. Mike Weissman. Keith has the backing of business groups, while Weissman has the backing of a slate of his Democratic colleagues in the legislature, as well as labor, environmental and progressive groups.
The district is so Democratic-friendly that whoever wins the June 25 primary will almost certainly win in November, too.
The big spending in the district, which in total represents about 20% of all $1.7 million in outside spending in state legislative primaries reported as of midday Thursday, reflects the impact individual senators can have on the performance of legislation on Capitol Hill. Over the past two years, progressive bills on housing and drug policies have been blocked in Senate committees where there is a Democratic majority of one or two votes.
There are a handful of Democratic congressional primaries where outside groups are spending money to help more moderate candidates beat their more progressive opponents.
Weissman, a lawyer who worked eight years in the House, including as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, condemns the spending.
“I am shocked and dismayed to see this large amount of mysterious, essentially untraceable money arriving in northern Aurora and Colorado,” he said. “For eight years as a representative I have tried to fight for my district and my city…stand up for working families, even if it means taking on powerful interests.”
In an interview with The Colorado Sun, Keith also condemned the “infiltration of large amounts of money into our political campaigns.” He highlighted how he agreed to adhere to the state’s voluntary donor limits, which allows him to collect larger individual donations but limits his campaign spending to $141,950.
Representation Matters, as an independent expenditure committee, similar to a super PAC, cannot coordinate with Keith’s campaign.
Representation Matters emails and ads seen by The Sun have so far supported Keith and do not attack Weissman. They feature photos of Keith with his children and say he will “confront racism in state government” and “fight to protect women’s rights.”
This flier supporting Democrat Idris Keith in Senate District 28 was distributed by door-to-door canvassers last month in Aurora.
following the money
Because of how Representation Matters was formed and funded, it is unclear who pays for the group’s work.
The committee filed its request with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office on May 20 for the express purpose of helping Keith get elected. That was three days after one of his mailers for Keith had been sent out.
State campaign finance filings show Representation Matters received $320,000 on May 22 from a different state spending committee called Brighter Colorado Futures.
Brighter Colorado Futures registered as a committee on May 10 and received $315,000 from a federal super PAC called Democracy Wins on May 21.
Democracy Wins registered with the Federal Election Commission on May 13, and will not have to report its donors until July 15, nearly three weeks after the June 25 primary in Colorado. When you report your donors, you may be funded by a political nonprofit that doesn’t disclose where its money comes from. The group’s website portrays it as working to defeat Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert.
All of Representation Matters’ expenses to support Keith so far occurred before the May 26 deadline, after which such expenses must be reported within 48 hours. That kept the group’s expenses secret for more than two weeks after the first email was sent.
It is not unusual for large sums of money to be spent on legislative primaries or general elections in Colorado, but it always happens with a purpose. Funding often comes from an issue group hoping to promote a cause or from a wing of a political party hoping to expand its ranks. Given that Senate District 28 is a safe Democratic seat, it is unlikely to be the latter.
A closer look at Senate District 28
Senate District 28 is currently represented by term-limited Democratic Senator Rhonda Fields, who is running to be Arapahoe County Commissioner. She has not endorsed a successor.
“I want people to make their decision,” he said about why he hasn’t given his endorsement in the primary. “We have two very confident and capable candidates.”
He said residents of Senate District 28 face increasing food and economic insecurity, and he believed Weissman and Keith have solutions to address those issues.
The district is very favorable to Democrats. Fields won his 2022 reelection bid by 37 percentage points.
The district is 39% Latino, 32% white and 18% Black, according to 2022 census figures. It is much more diverse than most legislative districts in the state. Weissman is white. Keith is black.
The Aurora Municipal Center, photographed March 13. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)
Keith’s donors include small donor committees operated by the Colorado Medical Society, the Colorado Association of Realtors, the Colorado Apartment Association, the Metro Denver Apartment Association and COPIC, the state’s medical malpractice insurer. Her website is supported by the Colorado Chamber of Commerce, the Colorado Medical Society and the Colorado Association of Realtors.
Weissman’s donors include committees run by several unions, the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, Conservation Colorado and Healthier Colorado. Weissman is endorsed by 10 Democratic state senators, Attorney General Phil Weiser and U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, as well as the Working Families Party, the Colorado AFL-CIO, the Colorado Education Association and Colorado Ceasefire.
Keith has raised $67,000 compared to the $109,000 raised by Weissman. Keith had spent $54,000 and had $13,000 in cash as of May 29, while Weissman had spent $32,000 and had about $77,000 in cash.
Weissman has not benefited from the same level of spending from political groups that Keith receives, but in the last week three groups have begun spending to support him.
Conservation Colorado Victory Fund, an environmental group, has spent $30,000 on two advertisements supporting Weissman. Colorado Labor Action, which backs pro-union candidates, has spent about $30,000 on election campaigns and ads for Weissman.
Better Schools for a Stronger Colorado spent $66,000 on digital ads supporting Weissman and opposing Keith, along with about $6,000 on phone calls supporting Weissman. Better Schools is funded primarily by Stand for Children, a Portland, Oregon-based nonprofit that does not disclose its donors.
Keith originally ran this year to represent House District 36. In August he moved on to run for the state Senate. He ran for a seat on the Aurora City Council in 2021, but dropped out of the race before the election, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family. Keith also ran unsuccessfully for Arapahoe County commissioner in 2020, losing by about 150 votes to his Republican opponent.
Groups with unknown donors are spending in other legislative primaries
The Democratic primary in Senate District 28 is far from the only race in which groups with unknown donors are spending money.
For example, state Rep. Elisabeth Epps has been the target of tens of thousands of those hard-to-trace dollars in her Democratic primary race for House District 6 against Denver attorney Sean Camacho.
Fighting For a Stronger Colorado is an independent expenditure committee formed in February that has sent four mailers to district voters since mid-May at a cost of about $57,000.
The group had raised $66,000 as of June 3, of which about $55,000 came from Citizens For a Great Denver, a political nonprofit that does not disclose its donors. The nonprofit helped prevent Candi CdeBaca from being re-elected to the Denver City Council last year.
Signs for Democratic candidates are seen at a House District 6 caucus on March 7, 2024, at Morey Middle School in Denver. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)
Fighting For a Stronger Colorado also received $8,000 from the Colorado Democracy Action Fund, another statewide super PAC that has been funded entirely with donations from Education Reform Now Advocacy, a national political nonprofit that does not disclose its donors.
Two other donors to Fighting For a Stronger Colorado are:
- Barry Curtiss-Lusher, board member of the Anti-Defamation League and former CEO and co-founder of Nexus BPS, an energy development company. He gave $1,000.
- Andrew Feinstein, CEO and Managing Partner of EXDO Development. He gave $2,500.
Servicios Porque Action Fund has spent nearly $35,000 on advertising to support Camacho after receiving $37,000 from statewide super PAC A Whole Lot of People for Change.
So far, there is no outside spending supporting Epps.
Story Type: News
Based on facts, either directly observed and verified by the journalist, or reported and verified by knowledgeable sources.
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