Phil Weiser keeps his major campaign cash lead over Joe Salazar in Democratic primary race for Colorado attorney general – The Denver Post

Former University of Colorado law school dean Phil Weiser has maintained a wide fundraising lead over Rep. Joe Salazar in the Democratic battle to become Colorado’s next attorney general, holding $800,000-plus more in his war chest than Salazar just over a month out from the primary election.

Weiser, who also worked in former President Barack Obama’s Justice Department, hauled in $326,000 between Jan. 1 and May. 2, spending $331,619 during that span. He had about $887,000 cash on hand at the beginning of this month.

Campaign finance filings show Weiser spent about $175,000 in the first four months of the year on gathering signatures to make the ballot. He paid another $26,000 for “primary voter research” to the Telluride-based Keating Research, a polling firm.

By comparison, Salazar — who worked as a civil rights and criminal investigator for the Colorado Department of Regulator Agencies — raised about $31,000 from January through April, spending more than $37,000 during that span. The Thornton lawmaker had $7,127 cash on hand as of May 2.

Both Salazar and Weiser made the primary ballot at the Colorado Democratic Party’s statewide assembly in April. Weiser landed 53 percent of delegate votes, with Salazar garnering 37 percent.

With the rest of the Democratic field in the Colorado attorney general’s race either failing to make the ballot or dropping out of the race, the contest between Weiser and Salazar is shaping into what could be an ideological battle between two factions of the party. Weiser is a favorite of the Democratic establishment, and Salazar is courting the Bernie Sanders wing of the party.

(Salazar was recently endorsed by the U.S. senator and former presidential candidate.)