New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson came in second in Colorado’s presidential fundraising derby, with a total of $151,700 collected from Colorado donors. But while Barack Obama collected most of his money from Boulder and environs, Richardson was more comfortable in the big city. He collected $66,000 of his total from Denver proper and another $35,000 from the suburbs.Richardson took in only $4,300 from Boulder and another $5,600 from neighboring Niwot.
Among individual donors, Richardson seems to be the Qwest candidate. He collected $19,100 from people who identified themselves as Qwest employees, fully 12 percent of all the money he got from Colorado. It included a donation from Qwest CEO Richard Notebaert. Qwest has substantial business operations in Richardson’s home state.
The governor was also popular with law firms. Individuals associated with Brownstein, Farber, Hyatt, Schreck contributed $9,350; Hogan and Hartson chipped in another $7,300.
Notable Colorado individuals who contributed to Richardson’s effort include Tim Gill of the Gill Foundation, former assistant Interior secretary and former Wilderness Society president George Frampton, Denver Post and Media News owner Dean Singleton, former Colorado state senator Polly Baca, and two-time Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Tom Strickland.
