Musgrave, Shafroth Feel Like A Million Bucks

U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave’s (R-Fort Morgan) re-election campaign announced Monday it has surpassed $1 million cash-on-hand for the first time in the 2008 election cycle.

CD-2 candidate Will Shafroth’s campaign also announced Tuesday that it has raised a total of more than $1 million since entering the race, though a campaign spokesperson said their current amount of cash-on-hand was not yet known.

Musgrave manager Jason Thielman said while final fundraising numbers were still being tabulated, the campaign has brought in at least $300,000 during 1Q 2008.

Thielman said this assures that the campaign will report least $1 million cash-on-hand at the end of the quarter.

"It is overwhelming to see the level of increased support I received this quarter from my supporters," Musgrave said in a press release announcing the fundraising milestone.

Anne Caprara, manager for Musgrave’s CD-4 Democratic opponent Betsy Markey, responded by pointing out that the 2006 Musgrave campaign reported reaching the $1 million cash-on-hand mark by the end of 2005.

“The fact that the Musgrave campaign needs to send out a press release to announce they have reached $1 million three months later than she did in 2006 -- That indicates that their fundraising is not going as well as they did in 2006,” Caprara said.

Musgrave reported $1,081,519 cash-on-hand at the end of 1Q 2006.

Caprara declined to release any initial Markey fundraising totals on Tuesday.

Shafroth also entered seven-digit territory Tuesday, announcing in a release that his campaign took in $279,710 in 1Q 2008, bringing his total raised to $1,020,247.

Shafroth’s 1Q haul came from 445 donations (323 in-state), of which 226 were $200 or less. The average contribution was $628.56, the release stated.

Shafroth spokesperson Lynea Hansen stressed the numbers were preliminary pending the filing of the campaign’s 1Q FEC fundraising report.

Hansen said other statistics, such as Shafroth’s cash-on-hand, were not yet available.

Spokespeople for Shafroth’s CD-2 primary opponents, Joan Fitz-Gerald and Jared Polis, declined to comment on Shafroth’s numbers and said their fundraising numbers were not yet available.

The FEC reporting deadline for 1Q 2008 is April 15.