Attorney General Phil Weiser and U.S. Senator Michael Bennet are raising campaign funds at a roughly equal clip in their head-to-head contest for the Democratic nomination for Colorado governor, but a billionaire-funded group backing Bennet is amassing a cash advantage as the primary election heats up.

Weiser, who launched his campaign on Jan. 2 last year, raised a total of over $4.6 million over the course of 2025, according to campaign finance disclosures filed with the secretary of state’s office last week.

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After entering the race on April 10, Bennet raised about $3.5 million, about three-quarters of Weiser’s total, in the last three quarters of the year.

Both candidates said their fundraising numbers demonstrated strong grassroots support, including from small-dollar donors. Colorado’s campaign finance laws limit direct campaign contributions to $725 per individual, and corporate contributions are prohibited.

“Michael is running for Governor to protect Colorado from Donald Trump’s chaos and deliver a stronger, more affordable future for our state — and his robust grassroots support shows that Coloradans are behind him,” Nellie Moran, Bennet’s campaign manager, said in a statement.

Weiser’s campaign highlighted its $3.4 million in cash on hand at the beginning of 2026 — more than double the Bennet campaign’s figure of just under $1.6 million.

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But Bennet stands to benefit from millions in spending by an independent expenditure committee, better known as a super PAC, that is supporting his campaign. Super PACs can raise unlimited sums of money from individuals, corporations and nonprofits, but they are barred from coordinating directly with candidates.

Rocky Mountain Way, the super PAC supporting Bennet, has raised over $3.3 million from 82 donors who have contributed an average of nearly $44,000 each. The group’s top donors, accounting for half of its total receipts, are former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Brighter Future for Colorado, a so-called dark money nonprofit that does not disclose its donors.

“We don’t have out-of-state billionaires behind us,” Weiser said in a press release. “We have the people of Colorado powering our campaign and responding to our commitment to fight for Colorado and to always show up, listen, and deliver results.”

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Weiser also has super PAC support from the group Fighting For Colorado, which has raised $562,651 since it was registered in August 2025. Seventy-one donors have contributed an average of $7,947. Its top donors — Jason Mendelson, Tom Ray, Arthur Reimers and Jim Kelley — are all venture capitalists or private equity investors who have contributed $50,000 each.

Weiser, a former law professor, is serving his second term as attorney general after he was first elected in 2018.

Bennet is a former Denver Public Schools superintendent who was appointed to the Senate by Governor Bill Ritter in 2009. He ran unsuccessfully for president in 2020 before winning reelection to a third full term in 2022.

The winner of the primary between Weiser and Bennet will be heavily favored to win the general election in November. Coloradans have elected only one Republican governor in the last 50 years. Democrats have won every statewide election held in the last eight years by an average of more than 10 percentage points, and are widely expected to gain ground in a favorable midterm election year.

Democratic Governor Jared Polis is term-limited. The primary election is June 30.