Big-buck backer for Brauchler

Colorado Strong is the latest super PACstyled group to join the governor’s race.

Another big-money group has joined Colorado’s race for governor, and its chair said the latest super PAC-styled committee is supporting Republican George Brauchler.

The organization is Colorado Strong, whose backers have registered the state-based outfit as an independent expenditure committee — meaning that, unlike an official candidate campaign, it can accept unlimited sums of money from individual donors.

Colorado Strong is at least the third such group to enter the 2018 contest — joining Frontier Fairness, which supports Democrat Mike Johnston, and Better Colorado Now, which is backing Republican Walker Stapleton, who is widely expected to enter the governor’s race.

“I’ve just become a fan of George Brauchler the last couple of years,” said Alan Philp, Colorado Strong’s chair and a former executive director of the Colorado Republican Party.

In part because there are no fundraising limits for these groups, state law prohibits coordination between candidates and independent expenditure committees.

Both Philp and a Brauchler campaign aide insisted they were following the letter of the law.

But that doesn’t mean the two camps aren’t close.

After Brauchler announced his run for governor in early April — but before Philp formed Colorado Strong in mid-May — Philp held an event for Brauchler at his home.

“My hope is to give Jefferson County Republican activists an opportunity to meet George in a casual setting,” Philp wrote in the invitation. “P.S. This is not a fundraiser.”

Philp’s group has yet to report any contributions. But he said that’s about to change.

“We’re attempting to raise money,” he said.

Brauchler could use the help. The 18th Judicial District attorney collected just $183,000 for his campaign in the most recent fundraising quarter — a total that trailed much of the rest of the field.

Adding to his woes is how the money race is shaping up.

Because Colorado has a strict, $1,150 cap on donations, which is about a fifth of federal limits, wealthy candidates who can selffund their campaigns without restraint have a huge advantage over their rivals.

Republican Victor Mitchell already has loaned his campaign $3 million, and Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Polis is expected to pour much of his fortune — which falls between $142 million and $468

million — into the governor’s race.

An independent expenditure committee such as Colorado Strong offers a way around this disadvantage, although Brauchler’s team said they would respect the prohibition on coordination.

“Neither George Brauchler nor anyone associated with his campaign for governor of Colorado have had any contact whatsoever with an independent expenditure committee or its representatives,” Ryan Lynch, his campaign manager, said in a statement. “We believe that efforts to tiptoe around coordination laws are in violation of the spirit of such laws and want nothing to do with those questionable practices.”

How much Republican money is even left on the table for the pro-Brauchler group, however, is another question.

The committee behind Stapleton has planned a fundraiser later this month that includes many of the bold-faced names of Colorado GOP politics, from beer magnate Pete Coors to Broncos legend John Elway.

It hasn’t come without its share of criticism, though.

Because Stapleton hasn’t officially declared his candidacy, he can attend Monday’s fundraiser as a “special guest” without directly violating the prohibition on coordination between candidates and super PACstyle groups.

But campaign watchdogs warn that its approach, and others like it, trample the intent of the rules.