Democratic congressional candidate Brittany Pettersen amassed more than $200,000 in the first five days of her bid for the Colorado seat held by retiring U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, her campaign said.
The Lakewood state senator had received nearly 500 donations through Sunday since announcing her candidacy a week ago, her campaign said, bringing in $157,325 on top of the $44,773 she had left over from a previous run for the same office.
“We did it!” Pettersen said, announcing the total in an email to supporters. “Our campaign has $202,099 in the bank, and we did it in just 5 days!”
Pettersen already has nearly as much on hand as the $207,220 she raised during four months in 2017 when she was one of four Democrats seeking the nomination in the Jefferson County-based 7th Congressional District during Perlmutter’s brief run for governor.
Pettersen also announced on Friday that she had secured endorsements from 72 current and former elected officials from across the state in her campaign’s first 72 hours. On the list were 27 members of the General Assembly, including House Speaker Alec Garnett of Denver and Senate Majority Leader Steve Fenberg of Boulder.
First elected to the legislature in 2012, Pettersen was the first prominent Democrat to launch a campaign for the seat after Perlmutter announced on Jan. 10 that he wouldn’t seek a ninth term.
Two other Democrats — state Rep. Brianna Titone of Arvada and Jefferson County Commissioner Lesley Dahlkemper — told Colorado Politics last week that they’re considering running for the seat.
Republicans Erik Aadland and Laurel Imer have been running in a primary to represent the district. They could be joined soon by state Rep. Colin Larson of Littleton, the only Republican currently holding legislative office in Jefferson County.