Updated using June 18 campaign finance report
Contributions to campaign*: About $2 million. Of that, Stapleton has donated about $800,684 to his own campaign, which represents 38.5 percent of his direct campaign donations.
Balance after expenses: $484,652
Contributions to independent expenditure committee on behalf of candidate:
$1,060,901 — Better Colorado Now. The largest donors to Better Colorado Now include:
Extraction Oil and Gas, Inc. ($50,000)
Dorothy Stapleton ($50,000), Walker Stapleton’s mother and first cousin of former U.S. president, George H.W. Bush
J. Landis Martin ($50,000), chairman and managing director of Platte River Equity
Liberty Oil Field Services ($50,000)
Gregg Engles ($50,000), CEO of WhiteWave Foods
Others donors to Better Colorado Now include billionaire Phil Anschutz, owner of Anschutz Corp.;billionaire John C. Malone, chairman and majority owner of Liberty Media Group; August Busch III, former chairman of Anheuser-Busch; Tad Herz, executive vice-president and CEO of Fourpoint Energy; George Solich, CEO of Fourpoint Energy; and John Elway, who donated $10,000.
General donor profile
Total raised from large contributors ($1,000 to the maximum allowable $1,150): These donations amount to $1,016,050 – or 48.9 percent of total contributions. This doesn’t include multiple contributions made over time that add to more than $1,000. However, this includes the money Stapleton gave to his own campaign. Among these large donors were Phil Anschutz.
Total raised from out-of-state contributors: These donations amount to $595,499 – or about 28.6 percent – of Stapleton’s campaign contributions.
Top sectors associated with donors:
Financial/Investment: $188,643 from about 250 donors
Real estate: $128,850 from about 180 donors
General business: $88,715 from over 100 donors
Mining/Energy: $55,325, from 60 donors, the highest contribution from this sector for any candidate
Companies with greatest number of donors and/or donations:
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, a law firm: $8,650
Four Point Energy, a mining/energy company: $7,150
Milender White, a construction company: $4,300
Resolute Energy Corp, a mining/energy company: $3,900
Top families that gave the most donations:
The Bush family: Former U.S. presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, Laura Bush, Jeb Bush, Columba Bush, etc. collectively donated $14,650 directly to Stapleton’s campaign. Jonathan Bush Jr. donated $10,000 to Better Colorado Now. Jeb Bush also donated $1,000 to Better Colorado Now.
The Coors family: Peter, Meredith, Pete, Darden, Jeffrey and Lis. Collectively donated $6,850 directly to Stapleton’s campaign. Meredith Coors also donated $5,000 to Better Colorado Now.
The Leede family: Michael, Teresa, John and Diane. Collectively donated $4,600 directly to Stapleton’s campaign. Michael Leede also donated $10,000 to Better Colorado Now.
The Anschutz family: Nancy, Philip and Elizabeth. Collectively donated $3,450 directly to Stapleton’s campaign. Elizabeth Anschutz also donated $10,000 to Better Colorado Now.
Data compiled by Joey Getty and Shannon Mullane from June 18, 2018 campaign disclosure statements, which are the most recent candidate filings with the Colorado Secretary of State. The next filing deadline is July 2.
**Independent expenditure committees can accept unlimited contributions, but how such committees spend that money cannot be controlled or coordinated by the candidate.
The research on the donations to the major candidates for governor of Colorado from both parties was conducted by graduate students in the precision journalism class at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The instructor is Burt Hubbard, former database reporter for the Rocky
Mountain News, Denver Post and Rocky Mountain PBS. The students providing the research are: Giselle Cesin, Amanda Clark, Crystal Eilerman, Joseph Getty, Anne Henning, Rey-Lynn Little, Shannon Mullane, Heather Sackett and Jentry Womack.
