Despite the left’s insistance that the Republican Party is the party of the rich, a newly released tool by I-News Network (a theoretically nonpartisan organization) shows that’s simply not accurate in Colorado.  In fact, Republican donors did not even break the top five donors according to this list of top donors who have given from 2007 through 2012.  As liberal CU professor Sandra Fish noted in her Daily Camera article:

“Corporations and billionaires — and their extravagant contributions to the presidential campaigns — have drawn the most national attention this year in terms of campaign financing. But in Colorado it is the same handful of wealthy Democrats and the labor unions continuing to play a steady hand.”

In case you were wondering who the top donors in Colorado might be, here are the top five, and few are surprising:

1. Rep. Jared Polis has given an unbelievable $8,420,886 in 644 donations (533 candidates and 111 committees).
2. Tim Gill has given $3,683,894 in 358 donations (256 candidates and 102 committees).
3. Pat Stryker has given $3,016,722 in 266 donations (196 candidates and 70 committees).
4. Rep. Ed Perlmutter has given $1,065,772 in 202 donations (104 candidates and 98 committees).
5. Rep. Diana DeGette (dean of our delegation, in case you’ve forgotten) has given $967,062 in 152 donations (71 candidates and 81 committees).

We would have liked to create a chart for this, but it’s fairly pointless since there is not one single Republican donor in the top five.  Here is what the top five donors have spent in Colorado (keep in mind, this all goes to the left): $17,154,336.

Common among all five of these top donors is the label “Party Animal” meaning they give to primarily one political party (that would be the Democratic Party for those of you who have been living under a rock). Additionally, many of these donors have been named top donors for many years in a row.

The “webApp” also notes the top organizations that have donated in Colorado.  Surprise, surprise. Of the top five, four are unions.  Just one right-leaning organization is included in the top five – American Crossroads.  Here’s a quick look at the groups:

1. National Education Association has donated $9,816,251 in 89 donations (66 candidates and 23 committees).
2. United Food and Commercial Workers Association has donated $8,249,834 in 162 donations (120 candidates and 42 committees).
3. American Crossroads has donated $6,044,397 in 34 donations, all to candidates.
4. SEIU has donated $5,678,591 in 377 donations (257 to candidates and 120 to committees).
5. AFSCME has donated $3,957,978 in 411 donations (348 to candidates and 63 to committees)

That these Democratic groups and individuals have given so much to pet political causes and candidates is not surprising to those who have been following Colorado politics for the past few years.  It does indicate that Republicans in Colorado face enormous headwinds in any election.