The 2014 election is on track to be the most expensive in the nation’s history, and that is highly unusual for a midterm
With its bitterly contested U.S. Senate and gubernatorial races, Colorado has been a focus of huge sums of money. Much of it comes from mega-corporations and multimillionaires and billionaires from outside the state.
But the money flows both ways. There are many Coloradans who use their financial power to influence politics nationally and in other states.
Rocky Mountain PBS I-News, teaming with the Investigative News Network, has identified Colorado’s 10 most politically active contributors. The analysis reviewed federal and state contribution disclosures obtained from the National Institute on Money in State Politics and the Center for Responsive Politics.
This data does not include the total amounts for spending in 2014, as donations may continue through Election Day. It doesn’t reflect contributions to any of the political non-profits, which do not have to disclose donors.
It does reveal the contributions from individuals given directly to candidates or political parties.
Colorado’s top 10 political power players have contributed about $6.5 million since 2011 to state and national elections.
The data in this story was compiled by the Investigative News Network from Followthemoney.org, a project of the National Institute on Money in State Politics and OpenSecrets.org, a project of the Center for Responsive Politics.
