Indians For Guns

Colorado's first-ever recall elections of state lawmakers have amassed about $3.5 million from donors both near and far, with those vying to defend the incumbents up for election Tuesday significantly outraising the opposition.

A Denver Post review of finance reports from the 10 active issue committees involved in the recalls of Senate President John Morse of Colorado Springs and Sen. Angela Giron of Pueblo found some donors contributing as little as $1 to as much as six figures.

The committees accepted unrestricted amounts of cash from thousands of individuals and dozens of nonprofit 501(c)(4)s, which do not have to disclose donors, according to the Colorado secretary of state.

Proponents of the recall have raised about $540,000, while opponents have collected nearly $3 million. Much of the cash has come from out of state — a sign of the national significance these recalls have.

Morse and Giron face a recall election Tuesday for their support of tougher Colorado gun laws implemented this year. Voters in the pair of southern Colorado Senate districts they represent have already begun early voting.

"I think it illustrates the high stakes of this game for those who want to regulate firearms. If recall supporters succeed in recalling the president of the Colorado Senate, it will frighten everyone who might be tempted in the future to vote in favor of some form of firearms regulation," said Bob Loevy, professor emeritus of political science at Colorado College.

Nearly $368,000 from committees collecting donations in favor of the recalls came from outside of Colorado, and about $147,000came in the form of itemized donations from within the state.

By contrast, those against the recall received about $1.5 million from within Colorado and about $1.5 million from outside the state. However, while some of the issue committees against the recalls are registered here in Colorado, they accepted cash from out-of-state donors and then in turn donated back to other local issue committees.

For example, the Denver-based Taxpayers for Responsible Democracy, which received a $350,000 check from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and $250,000 from Los Angeles philanthropist Eli Broad, donated large sums of money to A Whole Lot of People for John Morse — a separate Colorado Springs issue committee fighting against the recalls.

Almost all of the outside money collected by issue committees vying to oust the lawmakers came from the National Rifle Association, based in Fairfax, Va. The nonprofit's issue committee has doled out about $360,000 and is expected to have shelled out more once final reports are filed in October.

THE SPOT BLOG

Read: more on Senate President John Morse's recall effort on the Spot blog.
The bulk of the cash that's come into the recalls has gone toward TV advertisements, campaign literature and local and national consulting firms. The Chicago-based firm Adelstein Liston, which helped President Barack Obama's re-election campaign, has raked in large sums from committees against the recalls, while Virginia-based firm Starboard Strategic has seen thousands pour in from committees in favor of the recalls.

Loevy, who lives in Morse's Senate District 11, said he recently watched a television show on prime time and there were two ads opposing the recall.

"They were quite sophisticated and running at a very expensive time," Loevy said. "The number of people who were watching and will be voting in the election is quite small."

Pueblo United for Angela, which is backing Giron, has raised about $1 million.

Christy Le Lait, who is campaign manager of A Whole Lot of People for John Morse, which raised more than $860,000, said much of their money has gone toward the TV ad buys.

Groups supporting Morse and Giron have cut several TV ads castigating their rivals in the recalls.

Republican Bernie Herpin, who is vying to oust Morse from office in Tuesday's election, has benefitted from the cover provided by pro-recall groups that have assailed Morse.

"Money is definitely playing a factor, as we've seen with the multiple TV and radio ads and mailings from both sides," Herpin said.

Staff writer Lynn Bartels contributed to this report.

FOR RECALL

Total raised: $540,000

Itemized donations in Colorado: $147,000

Itemized donations outside of Colorado: $368,000

Some top donors

•NRA: $360,000

•I Am Created Equal: $56,800

•Colorado Citizens Protecting Our Constitution: $29,800

•Victor Head, Pueblo resident: $5,800

•Dianna Harris, Colorado Springs resident: $4,500

AGAINST RECALL

Total raised: $3 million

Itemized donations in Colorado: $1.5 million

Itemized donations outside of Colorado: $1.5 million

Some top donors

•Taxpayers for Responsible Democracy: $620,000

•Michael Bloomberg: $350,000

•DLCC Unincorporated Individual Acct: $300,000

•Eli Broad: $250,000

•Mainstream Colorado: $211,800

There is very little difference between most of them, at least when it comes to retaining their positions and their privileges.