Attorney General Phil Weiser posted on Facebook days before Democratic caucuses that “we don’t have big billionaires backing our campaign.” Fighting for Colorado, the super PAC supporting his gubernatorial bid, collected $50,000 checks from Goldman Sachs partners and private equity executives. Colorado law caps individual donations at $1,450—making Weiser’s claim technically true for his campaign committee and substantively meaningless for voters who don’t distinguish between campaigns and the super PACs supporting them.
Fighting for Colorado raised $563,000. Tom Ray and Art Reimers each gave $50,000. Ray runs Buckhorn Capital private equity. Reimers retired from Goldman Sachs and serves on Red Mountain Capital’s board. Jason Mendelson and James Kelley added $50,000 apiece. Blair Richardson, Bow River Capital CEO who donated to Trump’s 2024 campaign, contributed $25,000. Merle Chambers, first woman inducted into the Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Hall of Fame, gave $25,000.
Colorado restricts contributions to candidate committees at $725 per election cycle—primary and general combined equal $1,450 maximum regardless of donor wealth. Independent expenditure committees operating separately from campaigns face no limits under Citizens United v. FEC. Federal law prohibits coordination between candidates and super PACs, allowing wealthy supporters to fund unlimited spending while candidates claim grassroots backing. The legal structure works identically for both Democratic candidates.
Bennet’s super PAC Rocky Mountain Way raised $3.6 million—including $1.25 million from Michael Bloomberg. Bennet’s campaign committee caps individual donations at $1,450 like Weiser’s. Bloomberg’s money went to Rocky Mountain Way, not Bennet for Governor. Bennet doesn’t run ads claiming “no billionaires” despite having equal technical standing to make the claim.
Weiser campaign manager Anna Huck told the Denver Post: “Phil isn’t beholden to special interests, corporations or out-of-state-billionaires—he’s powered by the people of Colorado.” Weiser stated: “We don’t have out-of-state billionaires behind us.” His campaign attacked Bennet supporter Blair Richardson for donating to Trump. Richardson gave $25,000 to Fighting for Colorado supporting Weiser. Neither candidate acknowledges super PAC donors while criticizing opponents for identical arrangements.
Weiser posted the “no billionaires” message February 13—the final day to register as a Democrat for caucus participation. Democratic precinct caucuses run March 3-7, county assemblies follow March 14, state assembly meets March 28 in Pueblo. Weiser relies exclusively on caucus and assembly process to reach the primary ballot. Early messaging shapes delegate selection at precinct level where turnout runs low and committed supporters matter most. The claim targets caucus-goers before they understand both candidates use the same funding structure.
When both candidates exploit identical legal arrangements but only one advertises the technicality, voters receive partial information designed to obscure rather than illuminate. The $1,450 cap creates appearance of grassroots support. Super PACs operating “independently” channel unlimited wealth to the same campaigns. Colorado’s disclosure system documents every transaction while offering no mechanism to help voters understand that “my campaign” and “the super PAC supporting my campaign” represent a distinction without a practical difference—except when one candidate uses the distinction to deceive caucus-goers about how his operation actually gets funded.
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