GOP Senate Primary Left Joe O’Dea Badly Bruised Heading into General Election
After a nasty and costly GOP Senate primary, Republican nominee Joe O’Dea is entering the general election in debt and with less than $1 million cash on hand even after he self-funded close to $1.7 million to defeat insurrectionist Ron Hanks.
Not only does O’Dea have a significant cash disadvantage, he also proved his loyalty to Trump and owned far-right positions that are out of step with a majority of Coloradans in efforts to win the primary. His lack of campaign cash and far-right views are a toxic combination that make him a weak candidate in the general election.
Read excerpts below from the Colorado Sun:
Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet’s campaign reported having more than $8 million in cash at the end of June. His Republican opponent, Denver construction company owner and first-time candidate Joe O’Dea, had a fraction of that at only $841,000. And O’Dea’s campaign reported owing five vendors nearly $205,000, meaning the campaign actually has only $636,000 to work with.
…
Bennet, competing in his third election to a six-year Senate term, raised nearly $3.4 million from April 1 through June 30. He’s raised nearly $14.6 million since his last reelection campaign in 2016.
That compares with about $2 million raised by O’Dea during the same time frame, bringing his fundraising total to about $3.5 million since he entered the contest in October. But close to $1.7 million of that cash came directly from O’Dea, who has millions of dollars in assets.
…
O’Dea, meanwhile, spent nearly $600,000 on TV and radio advertising to defeat state Rep. Ron Hanks, who raised only about $137,000 for his campaign, in the Republican U.S. Senate primary.
…
O’Dea also got plenty of primary help from American Policy Fund, a federal super PAC that spent more than $1 million on TV and digital advertising supporting O’Dea and opposing Hanks.
Read more in the Colorado Sun and Colorado Newsline.