Brian Colón Raises $275,000+, Tops Lawrence Rael in Fundraising for 2010 Lt. Governor Race

What a start for Lt. Governor candidate Brian Colón! In fact, Brian made history of sorts by raising big funds so quickly. He also topped the total raised by his main competitor by about $130,000.

Since announcing his candidacy for Lieutenant Governor about six weeks ago on August 31, 2009, the former Democratic Party State Chair raised $277,034, including in-kind contributions totaling $12,831. He has $251,049 cash on hand as of the October 5th filing deadline. No candidate for Lieutenant Governor in recent New Mexico history has raised more than a quarter million dollars this early in the campaign, according to a statement released by Colón's campaign.

“I am humbled by the broad support our campaign received from New Mexicans in each corner of our state,” Colón said. “Folks have lined up enthusiastically behind our campaign because they share my commitment to providing high-quality education, creating new green jobs, and implementing transparency and ethics reform in government.”

Colón raised $264,203 from 667 cash contributions. The campaign averaged more than 18 donations a day and raised more than $40,000 online. Click for a copy of the report (xls) he filed with the Secretary of State today.

Colón announced his candidacy on August 31st at a kick-off fundraiser that raised more than $50,000 and was attended by more than 500 individuals.

“Our campaign continues to grow both by the number of financial supporters and by the hundreds of New Mexicans who have hit the streets to collect thousands of petition signatures from all 33 counties for filing next spring,” Colón said.

By way of comparison Colón's main rival for the Dem Lt. Governor slot on the ballot, Lawrence Rael, raised a little more than $147,000 for his campaign, despite having started his fundraising earlier in the process, ending the period with $105,000 on hand. Rep. Joe Campos raised more than $148,000, although that includes a $50,000 loan from his wife and another $50,000 loan from a bank. Campos spent almost $19,000 and ended the period with almost $130,000 on hand. Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano reported raising $11,865 and spending $7,192.50. No other Dem Lt. Gov. candidates have so far reported on their fundraising.

Of course money isn't everything in politics, but Colón's prodigious early fundraising cements the perception that he's a serious player in this race, and demonstrates that he has support all over the state. In other words, at this point in the race, Colón is the candidate to beat -- at least in terms of early fundraising, widespread appeal and just plain hard work.

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