Billionaire donors give Mike Johnston a big financial boost in Denver mayoral runoff
A half-million dollar contribution from former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg was part of a flood of large donations that has helped former state Sen. Mike Johnston open up a 2-to-1 fundraising lead over opponent Kelly Brough as the Denver mayor’s race enters its final week.
Advancing Denver, an independent expenditure committee supporting Johnston’s run, raised more than $4 million through May 22, according to campaign finance disclosures. Such committees, commonly known as super PACs, are allowed to raise and spend unlimited sums of money from wealthy donors and corporations but are barred from directly coordinating with candidates and their campaigns.
Johnston, a onetime candidate for both governor and U.S. Senate, faces Brough, the longtime head of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, in the June 6 mayoral runoff election, after the two rivals emerged from the 16-candidate first round last month.
The pro-Johnston super PAC has relied on many of the same out-of-state billionaire donors who boosted his gubernatorial bid in 2018, including Bloomberg, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman and hedge fund managers Steve Mandel and John Arnold. Kent Thiry, the former CEO of Denver-based dialysis giant DaVita, is the group’s largest local donor, while venture capitalist Art Reimers and private equity CEO Eric Resnick have also chipped in with six-figure contributions.
https://coloradonewsline.com/2023/05/30/billionaire-donors-mike-johnston-denver/
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