Larimer County's Democrat candidates win on Election Day with less money in their pockets

Larimer County voters largely favored Democrat candidates — when they could — in Tuesday’s election, despite those candidates for county office being largely outfunded their Republican opponents.

Democrats beat Republican challengers in three of the four contested county races on Election Day, according to final unofficial results posted Friday morning:

• Winning 54.8% of the vote, incumbent Democrat John Kefalas won another term as Larimer County District 1 commissioner against Republican challenger and current Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith;

• Also with 54.8% of the vote, incumbent Democrat Bob Overbeck won another term as county assessor against Republican challenger David Eisenbraun;

• Winning 52.6% of the vote, Democrat Stephen Hanks defeated Republican Matthew Canaga to become the county’s next coroner.

Incumbent Republican Angela Myers won another term as county clerk and recorder, beating Democrat candidate Toni Baker with 57.3% of the vote — the largest margin of victory for any county office this election.

Myers was able to do so with less campaign money than any other candidate for county office.

“The people of Larimer County have spoken and have made it pretty clear on how they feel,” Larimer County Republican Party Chair Ron Weinberg said.

He said voters aren’t “hurting enough” from increased gas prices and property taxes and inflation, and aren’t feeling issues from increased crime and homelessness to “vote a different way.”

Statewide races: Get 2022 Colorado election results. Find key statewide election results here

Larimer County races: Live updates from Larimer Board of County Commissioners, Fort Collins ranked-choice voting and more

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Weinberg congratulated the Democrats on their success in this election, acknowledging the importance of respecting the will of the voters and working to serve the county across party lines.

“I hope they preserve Larimer County as Larimer County,” Weinberg said, and that they “listen to minority party constituents as well.”

Larimer County Democrats Chair Gil Barela said the party is “very happy with the results” and attributed the Democrats’ success to “really great candidates who listened to their constituency.”

“This is something we have been working at for a long time, and our hard work is coming to fruition,” Barela said. “We’re making slow but good strides to the Democrat party having a big presence in Larimer County.”

More:Who's raising the most money this election in Larimer County? Here are the reports

Republicans largely outfunded Democrats but enjoyed few wins to show for it

The Larimer County Republican Party raised and spent more than four times what the county Democratic party did this election, according to campaign finance records.

The Larimer County Democrats raised $44,468.15 this election cycle, with a total of $62,423 on hand. They spent $41,330.13.

The Larimer County Republican Party raised $238,514.09 this election cycle, with a total of $272,306.48 on hand. They spent $254,441.09.

Weinberg said he worked hard to raise money to support Republican candidates and "give the campaigns a boost up" by giving money directly to candidates and letting them spend it how they saw fit.

The Larimer County Republicans contributed at least $55,000 directly to candidates in this election, including $17,500 to Smith, $12,500 to Canaga, and $10,000 to Eisenbraun. Candidates largely spent their funds on advertising.

Smith lost by about 16,800 votes, Canaga by 8,600 and Eisenbraun by 16,200.

The Larimer County Democrats made no direct financial contributions to candidates, according to campaign finance records, but money isn't everything in a political campaign, Barela said.

“I believe that our candidates went out and spoke to the people and listened to their constituents, and that made the difference,” Barela said. “No matter how much money you have, you have to listen to the people you represent.”

Kefalas was the only candidate who came close to matching his Republican opponent's campaign funding without a large contribution from their party. Smith raised $62,936 in his commissioner campaign compared with Kefalas's $56,306. Canaga raised about $52,000, eight times what Hanks raised, and Eisenbraun raised about $54,700, more than four times what Overbeck raised.

Larimer County Democrats supported their candidates in other ways, Barela said. Some candidates used the Democrats' office space as a campaign headquarters, and the group provided volunteers.

"We provided (the candidates) with anything that we had available to us," Barela said.

Importance of representation

Republicans secured three other county seats that had no Democrat challengers opposing them in this election: Irene Josey as treasurer, John Feyen as sheriff and Tom Donnelly as surveyor.

In all, Republicans hold four elected county seats and Democrats hold five, including all three Board of County Commissioner seats.

“It’s extraordinary when you have at least some say in the county,” Weinberg said.

Representation from multiple perspectives is important, Weinberg said, and he’s happy to maintain some of that for the Republican Party.

“We are now the minority party. We need to accept that and move to attain at least some representation in the county,” Weinberg said.

Barela said his party would have supported Democratic candidates for treasurer, sheriff and surveyor but didn’t have anyone come forward to run in those positions.

“We’re going to keep pushing for and showing that there will be a presence of the Larimer Democrat Party in Larimer County,” Barela said. “We’re just going to keep pushing forward. ... We’re optimistic for the future."

As for the county Republicans, “I think that the county party needs to take a deep inward look at itself and it needs to make some serious decisions on how to reach voters in Larimer County,” Weinberg said. “... The party as a whole needs to look inward.”

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Larimer County Democrats defeat Republicans despite less fundraising