Republican candidates vying to take on Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet almost tied for first place in the latest fundraising efforts reported this week to the Federal Election Commission.
Candidates Gino Campana and Joe O’Dea both raised about $1 million each over the Oct. 1 — Dec. 31 quarter.
Both men matched their efforts with personal loans of about $525,000.
As they head into the June Republican primary to face off against each other before the winner takes on Bennet, O’Dea leads with $888,000 in cash on hand while Campana has $784,000 banked.
While Republicans are banking money for the party primary, Bennet’s campaign war chest is rolling in dough for the November General Election.
Bennet’s already spent about $3 million this campaign cycle, and pulled in another $2 million over the last quarter with $4.7 million cash on hand
With no Democrat challenger standing in his way forcing Bennet to part with his money, the Republican nominee will face significant hurdles to raise cash quickly after the June primary to compete with the Democrat.
O’Dea and Campana are both independently wealthy men, and will likely need to rely on their personal funds to take on an entrenched incumbent like Bennet.
Other Republican candidates running in the primary include Deborah Flora who raised about $254,000 during the last quarter and has $471,000 left in the bank. She’s loaned her campaign more than $100,000.
Following her is Eli Bremer, who was the first Republican to enter the primary. Bremer raised more than $153,000 and has $178,000 cash on hand.
Ron Hanks raised $28,000 and has $13,000 in the bank. He’s loaned his campaign $12,000.