In Eagle County commissioner race, campaign spending is modest so far
Challenger Gregg Cooper is mostly self-funding his campaign
Courtesy photos
There’s only one contested countywide race this year, and campaign spending on that race has been modest so far.
The race for District 1 pits incumbent Matt Scherr, a Democrat from Minturn, against challenger Gregg Cooper, a Republican from Avon.
The District 2 seat is currently held by Eagle resident Kathy Chandler-Henry, a Democrat. Edwards resident Tom Boyd, a Democrat, won a June primary over former Avon Mayor Sarah Smith Hymes and is running unopposed for that seat.
With just Scherr and Cooper seeking the District 1 seat, spending so far has been slow.
The latest data from the Colorado Secretary of State’s office shows that as of the most recent reporting deadline, each candidate has raised a total of less than $8,000 across reporting periods from May 30 to July 30. Scherr had just less than $3,500 on hand before the latest reporting periods, from his last run for office in 2020.
Support Local Journalism
As you might expect from an incumbent, Scherr has a longer list of contributors. His July 30 report shows 30 contributors, who wrote checks ranging from $25 to $500, for a total of $3,975.
Scherr’s spending has ranged from website and management fees, with a high of $810, to a reported $1 spent on parking for June’s Pride in the Park event in Avon.
Cooper’s contributor list is more limited. The May 30 report shows only seven donors besides Cooper, and the June 21 report shows only two contributors other than the candidate. The largest of those contributions was for $500.
Most of Cooper’s campaign funding so far comes from his wallet.
Much of his campaign spending so far is going to online advertising, although there are items on the list ranging from office supplies to weights for his outdoor booths for Pride in the Park, Flight Days and Gypsum Days, to flyers, stickers and other items to give out at those events.
Those expenses so far total just more than $6,500. Scherr’s spending so far is just more than $1,800.
As of the July 30 reporting deadline, Scherr had $5,651 on hand, while Cooper’s account balance was $1,628.
