Face The State Staff Report
As Democrat candidates rake in hefty campaign contributions courtesy of Colorado labor unions, one Republican is thumbing his nose at conventional wisdom, having outraised every other state legislative candidate without ever receiving a penny in labor support.
BalmerDavidBalmer.com
Known as the House Republicans' “money man,” House Assistant Minority Leader David Balmer represents the quiet middle class Denver suburb of Centennial. He is also one of just three candidates making a bid for the state House or Senate to break the $100,000 mark in fundraising so far this year.
As of his July 7th campaign finance report, Balmer had raised $123,838.89. He attributes his fundraising success to discipline, organization and hard work, maintaining that no matter what the ideological leaning of a district, the fundraising formula is the same. “There is no secret,” he said. “I do it the same way that anybody else has ever done it, except I spend more time on it than others.”
Trailing Balmer is Democrat Josh Hanfling with $120,381. Hanfling is facing a three-way Democrat primary to replace the term-limited House Majority Leader Andrew Romanoff in House District 6. Coming in third is Republican Ali Hasan, who with $114,544.05, has been able to dip into his significant personal financial resources to fund his bid for House District 56.
Despite the fact that Balmer benefits from a strong incumbency advantage and voter registration statistics that most candidates could only dream of, he takes nothing for granted. Nearly 40 percent of his Arapahoe County House District 39 district is made up by Republicans, followed by a 28 percent Democrat affiliation. Nearly 32 percent of all district voters remain unaffiliated with either party.
Balmer is motivated, in part, because he believes this last category of voters is seriously up for grabs. Mollie Cullom, Balmer’s Democrat opponent, has $19,770.65 in funds on hand, and is running against Balmer for the third time after two previous unsuccessful attempts. Cullom did not respond to a request for an interview.
“Every suburban district in Arapahoe, Jefferson, Adams and Broomfield Counties [is a] swing district,” Balmer said. “Candidates who think they aren’t in a swing district haven’t been going door-to-door enough.”
Balmer's current focus: Raising his name recognition within the district. He spends $5,000 a month on a billboard at the major intersection of Parker and Arapahoe Roads. He also spends his evenings and weekends – except Friday, date night with his wife – knocking on doors and meeting constituents.
With months still remaining until Election Day, Balmer has earned the admiration of political adversaries. “He holds people accountable,” said Travis Berry, a Democrat lobbyist Balmer has tapped for contributions. “I think any legislator who wants to rise in leadership in his caucus or make himself safe in a vulnerable districts needs to learn from Balmer’s success.”
Mike Feeley, a Democrat who previously served in state Senate leadership, applauded Balmer's abilities. “He is a tremendous asset to his party and his caucus,” he said.
Personality is essential to swaying donors at the state and local levels, according to Joe Smith, a Denver attorney who has worked to raise money for national and local races. Smith says as races get smaller, so does media coverage, meaning that prospective donors are less likely to have heard of a candidate who may be making a fundraising pitch.
Balmer says he makes an average of 25 to 30 phone calls a day with the goal of speaking to at least 15 people. He says the key to fundraising success is follow up, and that with every pledge he receives, he responds with a hand-written note.
According to a Face The State analysis of Secretary of State records, the average state legislative candidate had raised $20,649.75, or just about one-sixth of Balmer's total yield, through July 7th. Colorado has 35 state Senate seats, up for election every four years, and 65 state House seats, with each seat up for election every two years.