Construction company owner Joe O'Dea, a Republican candidate for Colorado's U.S. Senate seat, plans to report receipts totaling more than $1 million through the end of the most recent fundraising period, including $500,000 he chipped in to his own campaign, a spokesman said Tuesday.
O'Dea, one of eight Republicans running in a primary for the chance to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, who is seeking a third term, is the first in the field to release initial fundraising numbers for the fourth quarter, which ended Dec. 31.
“Folks have been really generous with their money — especially people who do not typically give to political candidates... I'm proud of that," O'Dea said in a release that noted his campaign received contributions totaling $511,825 from hundreds of contributors and "nearly matched that number" with his own cash.
O'Dea finished the quarter with more than $800,000 on hand, campaign spokesman Zack Roday told Colorado Politics, adding that final figures weren't yet available.
Said O'Dea: "I’m running as me — a construction CEO who wants to give the working people of Colorado a voice. We are building this campaign from the ground up and urging everyone to get involved because together we can beat D.C. and Joe Biden’s senator, Michael Bennet. I’m betting on myself. That’s what I’ve always done. That’s what winners always do.”
O'Dea, a first-time candidate, jumped in the race in early October with about $500,000 already in hand — roughly half from donors and half from the candidate — after spending a couple months testing the waters, his campaign said. Fundraising during the exploratory period should be reflected in his campaign's fourth-quarter report, due to the Federal Election Commission by Jan. 31.
“Joe O’Dea is the Republican who can unite the conservative grassroots, the business community and the mainstream Coloradans who are sick of their U.S. senator voting with Joe Biden 100% of the time,” said Jefferson Thomas, an O'Dea strategist, in a release.
Bennet has yet to report fundraising for the quarter just ended but brought in just over $2 million for the third quarter and finished the period with more than $3.5 million in the bank.
Former El Paso County GOP chair and 2008 Olympian Eli Bremer, the only prominent Republican in the Senate primary before the start of the fourth quarter, reported raising $253,000 during the third quarter and had just under $210,000 cash on hand on Sept. 30.
O'Dea owns Denver-based Concrete Express Inc. and the Mile High Station and Ironworks event centers near downtown Denver.
In addition to Bremer, others seeking the GOP nomination include state Rep. Ron Hanks, R-Cañon City; Fort Collins developer and former city councilman Gino Campana; conservative talk radio veteran Deborah Flora; former congressional candidate Peter Yu; nonprofit founder Juli Henry; and, Colorado Christian University professor Gregory Moore.
Precinct caucuses take place during the first week of March, and the primary is set for June 28.
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