In the pivotal swing county of Jefferson County, Republicans running in competetive legislative races demonstrated superior fundraising compared to their Democrat opponents in the most recent fundraising period.

Reports filed with the Secretary of State's office show candidates Amy Attwood, Rick Enstrom, Ken Summers and Lang Sias crushing their rivals when it comes to campaign cash. 

Seeing that in tight races Tim Gill's money will fund massive ad buys these candidates’ dollars aren't going to win or lose races, but they do provide an important benchmark of the level of excitement and energy present among party donors. In the county that will be targeted from the top of the ticket on down to legislative races, Republicans are running up the score on fundraising.

Considering JeffCo voted against the Prop 103 $3 billion tax hike at a rate of 2-1, supported by Evie Hudak, it's looking like the swing county West of Denver is looking less-and-less likely to be a good place for Democrats in 2012.

In HD28, Attwood has raised $27,460 compared to $13,245 for her competitor, community organizer Brittany Pettersen. Attwood has $22,765 on hand to Pettersen's $10,021. 

In HD23, Enstrom raised $28,462, all of it in the most recent period. His opponent, incumbent Rep. Max "Children Are Like Maggots" Tyler (D-Golden) raised a pitiful $2,380 for the period, and has less than $18,000 on hand. Enstrom has $28,000 on hand. 

In SD22, Rep. Ken Summers (R-Lakewood) raised $7,680 since the end of January, and has over $60,000 on hand. Rep. Andy (D-Lakewood) raised $16,100 for the period, but has less than $30,000 on hand, giving Summers a nearly 2:1 advantage. 

In SD19, Top Gun instructor Lang Sias raised $23,679 compared to incumbent Sen. Evie Hudak (D-Westminster), who raised $11,498. Hudak holds a substantial cash on hand advantage, with $52,784 to Sias's $21,641, but Hudak has also been able to raise funds since 2008, whereas Sias only joined the race in January.

Now that the legislative session is over, the lobbyist cash spigot will be turned on at full force. What is interesting is how much better Republicans were doing in fundraising while lobbyists were barred by law from donating — though that didn’t stop Diane Primavera and Anne McGihon.

(Photo Credit: Golden Landmarks)