One hundred sixty-seven candidates are running for county office across 19 Colorado mountain and rural corridor counties in 2026. Forty-one committees have filed contribution activity in the cycle. The other 126 candidates have raised nothing on record with the Secretary of State. Most of the money that does exist sits in party committee accounts, not with individual candidates. Seven of the 167 registered candidates have filed individual campaign fundraising activity.
The data comes from the Colorado Secretary of State’s TRACER system, covering contributions filed through April 29, 2026, across Jackson, Grand, Summit, Pitkin, Eagle, Garfield, Lake, Park, Chaffee, Teller, Fremont, Custer, Gunnison, Saguache, Mineral, Rio Grande, Alamosa, Archuleta, and Hinsdale counties.
The Counties With Money
Chaffee County leads with $73,575 in receipts. The Chaffee County Democrats raised $49,263 from 243 donors. The Chaffee County Republican Central Committee raised $24,312. Not one of the seven registered Chaffee County candidates has filed a campaign committee.
Eagle County has $57,213 in receipts — the Eagle County Democrats at $41,303 and the Eagle County Republicans at $15,910. Thirteen candidates are registered for Eagle County offices. None has an individual campaign committee on file.
Summit County shows $47,776, split between the Summit County Republican Central Committee at $36,686 and Summit County Democrats at $11,090. Eight candidates are registered. None has an individual committee.
Fremont County has $45,889. Gregory Carlson, a Republican running for Commissioner District 2, raised $20,508 — but his most recent filing covers only through October 2025. No Q1 2026 filing was on record as of May 4. The Fremont County Republican Central Committee raised $17,873 and the Fremont County Democratic Party raised $7,508.
Gunnison County shows $36,752 between its two party committees. Pitkin County has $39,066 — the Pitkin County Democratic Party at $22,132 and Pitkin County Republicans at $16,934. Pitkin has no 2026 county candidates registered in TRACER. The county clerk’s election page was unavailable for review as of publication; the site indicated updated information would be available after May 11.
Alamosa County has $29,629 across two party committees. Archuleta County has $24,979 split between the Archuleta County Democratic Party Central Committee at $12,778 and the Archuleta County Republican Central Committee at $12,202. Park County has $22,645, with the Park County Democratic Central Committee at $13,698 and the Park County Republican Central Committee at $6,780. Two Park County candidates — Phil McDonald running for sheriff and Truman Esmond running for Commissioner District 3 — have filed individual committees raising $1,242 and $925 respectively.
Teller County has $15,507. Aaron Helstrom, a Republican running for Commissioner District 2, raised $6,152. The Teller County Republican Central Committee raised $8,587. The Teller County Democratic Party raised $495.
Custer County has $9,607 across two party committees. Grand County has $29,645 — the Grand County Democrats at $23,767 and Grand County Republicans at $5,878. Lake County has $1,456 across two party committees. Garfield County has $29,180, with the Garfield County Democratic Party at $17,068 and the Garfield County Republican Central Committee at $992. Brent Baker, a Republican running for sheriff, raised $3,721. Two other sheriff candidates filed committees with $50 each.
The Counties With Nothing
Mineral County has six candidates registered and zero contribution activity. Hinsdale County has eight candidates and zero contribution activity. Rio Grande County has 11 candidates registered and no money on file. Jackson County has 12 candidates, all Republican, running for every county office from sheriff to surveyor. The only financial activity is $950 to the Jackson County Republican Central Committee. Saguache County has nine candidates and $800 in combined party receipts.
The Pattern
In 14 of the 19 counties, not one candidate running for office in 2026 has filed an individual campaign committee. Races for county commissioner, sheriff, assessor, clerk, coroner, and treasurer are being contested — or run unopposed — with no disclosed fundraising. In Jackson, Hinsdale, and Custer counties, every registered candidate is Republican. In Chaffee, Garfield, and most other corridor counties, both parties have candidates on file but neither has a campaign committee. Total receipts across all 19 counties: $465,120 — the cost of running a single week of television advertising in a mid-sized Colorado media market.
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