On Tuesday, voters in fourteen states will pick their preferred democratic candidate to face off against likely GOP nominee President Donald Trump in November’s general election. Colorado is among the states holding a primary on Super Tuesday.
Aspen Public Radio analyzed a year of individual contribution data from the Federal Election Commission, a government agency that keeps track of campaign finance information.
The analysis counted donations from 11 cities and towns in Aspen Public Radio’s coverage area, Aspen, Snowmass Village, Snowmass, Basalt, Carbondale, Glenwood Springs, New Castle, Silt, Rifle, Gypsum and Eagle.
The latest campaign finance data shows former Vice President Joe Biden leading in donations among presidential candidates in the Roaring Fork Valley, pulling in 46% of all donor dollars. President Trump raised the second largest amount of money in the area, with Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont posting the third-highest total.
Much of Biden’s financial support came from Aspen and Snowmass Village, while a significant amount of President Trump’s came from Garfield County.
The dataset begins on Jan. 1, 2019 and ends on Dec. 31, 2019. Campaigns have not yet filed reports from the first quarter of 2020. Candidates still running as of Feb. 28, 2020 were counted in the analysis.
Donors in the area combined for 1511 total donations in 2019, adding up to just over $184,347. Some individuals made multiple donations.
Aspen accounted for the highest total donation value with just over $89,166. Carbondale had the second-highest, with $28,633. Snowmass had the third-highest, with just over $24,150.
In Aspen, Biden led by a significant margin, garnering $59,335. That total is more than six times as much given to the second-best fundraiser, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Buttigieg pulled in just over $9,667 and dropped out of the race on Sunday. President Trump accounted for the third-highest donation total in Aspen, with just over $4,649.
In Carbondale, Biden held a slimmer fundraising lead. He pulled in $8,860, while Sanders garnered $6,685. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts accounted for the third-most donations, with just over $4,317. Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who both dropped out over the weekend, were close behind.
In Glenwood Springs, President Trump led by a wide margin, receiving $17,109 in donations. That total represents 71% of all donor dollars from Glenwood Springs. Sanders raised the second-most, with just over $3,724. Biden raised the third-most, with $2,028.
Click the icons in the map above for a full breakdown of donations by city/town.
In Basalt, Biden and Sanders led the pack, only separated by less than $100.
While billionaire Tom Steyer and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii have not been considered national frontrunners, they both garnered donations in the thousands. Steyer dropped out of the race on Saturday.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg remains in the race, polling among the favorites as recently as late February. Bloomberg, who has a net worth of $61 billion, is not accepting campaign donations.
Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld, who has mounted a longshot primary challenge to unseat President Trump as the GOP’s presidential nominee, did not receive any donations from the area.
Individuals are only allowed to give $2,800 to candidates’ election committees each cycle. This data does not include contributions to political action committees or party committees.
