Candidate receipts in Colorado, 2016 FEC cycle

2016 Colorado receipts are not the U.S. 2016 total

The 2016 × Colorado join is a database match, not a narrative about a race. $43.9 million entered the extract because candidate records carried cycle 2016 and office state CO at the same time. 32 is the matching candidate count. $3.2 billion is what remains when the office-state filter is lifted for the same cycle.

32 is a mid-size candidate file. Arithmetic mean receipts per Colorado candidate are about $1.37 million ($43,900,465.86 / 32). National mean receipts per candidate in 2016 are about $1.85 million ($3,179,037,937.47 / 1721). Those ratios are divisions of packet facts. They are not medians, not typical campaigns, and not proof that Colorado campaigns were expensive or cheap.

Office state is not donor state. Colorado (CO) is the FEC office-state code. Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico office states are not recoded into CO. The 2016 cycle is a closed even-year window in this extract; $43,900,465.86 is the stored Colorado office-state total for that window. Independent expenditures and USAspending tables do not feed $43,900,465.86. Source: FEC.gov.

Colorado candidates, not Colorado donors

Candidate receipts for office state Colorado in 2016 are $43.9 million. That money is reported on candidate committee filings aggregated to the candidate, then grouped by office state and cycle. It is not an itemized individual-donor table. No donor names appear in this packet, and none are invented here.

32 candidates is a count of candidate records in the join, not a count of Colorado households and not a turnout figure. The 2016 cycle is a closed even-year window in this extract; $43,900,465.86 is the stored Colorado office-state total for that window. Neighboring office states are other cycle-state pages.

1721 U.S. candidates in 2016

$3.2 billion is larger than $43.9 million because the cycle includes every office state, not because Colorado is being compared with a second state on this URL. 1721 is larger than 32 for the same reason. 1.4% is the only share this page computes, and its denominator is $3,179,037,937.47, not population.

2016 as a presidential cycle dates the window. The 2016 cycle is a closed even-year window in this extract; $43,900,465.86 is the stored Colorado office-state total for that window. Live cycle hubs can move as amended candidate reports arrive. If a live hub disagrees with $3,179,037,937.47 or $43,900,465.86, the newer FEC extract controls.

$43.9 million versus $3.2 billion

Never write that Colorado raised $3.2 billion. $3.2 billion is the national 2016 candidate-receipt total. Never write that the United States raised only $43.9 million in 2016. $43.9 million is the Colorado office-state total. The two columns are labeled stateRaised and cycleRaised in the packet for that reason.

1.4% is the only legitimate bridge between the columns. It is a quotient, not a second source. Independent expenditures still sit outside both columns.

Office state versus donor state

Donor state and office state part ways constantly. A contributor in another state can fund a Colorado Senate or House committee. A Colorado resident can fund a candidate whose office state is not CO. This page tracks the second field only: office state. It does not track the first.

Because donor geography is absent, $43,900,465.86 is not 'money from Colorado.' It is 'money reported by candidates whose office state is Colorado' in 2016. That sentence is the accurate one. Source: FEC.gov.

FEC receipts are not federal awards in Colorado

USAspending publishes federal obligations by place and agency. FEC publishes campaign finance. $43,900,465.86 does not become an award total because Colorado appears in both systems. $3,179,037,937.47 does not become an award total because 2016 is a year in both systems. This page never claims receipts funded federal awards.

The 2016 cycle is a closed even-year window in this extract; $43,900,465.86 is the stored Colorado office-state total for that window. Internal links remain the four packet hrefs only. No other path is cited. Independent expenditures remain outside the dollar columns used here.

Questions

What is the 2016 Colorado candidate-receipt total?

$43.9 million ($43,900,465.86) from 32 candidates whose FEC office state is CO. Source: FEC.gov. That number is not the national 2016 total of $3.2 billion from 1721 candidates. Mixing the two columns is incorrect.

What share of 2016 U.S. candidate receipts came from Colorado office-state candidates?

1.4%. That is $43,900,465.86 divided by $3,179,037,937.47. The complement is 98.6%, or $3,135,137,471.61, from candidates whose office state is not CO. The share is not a share of donors, votes, or federal awards.

Are independent expenditures included in the Colorado 2016 total?

No. The source note on this page is candidate receipts grouped by election cycle and office state, not independent expenditures. $43,900,465.86 should not be quoted as a complete picture of 2016 political spending in Colorado. Super PAC and other independent-spend files are separate.

Do these FEC receipts fund federal spending in Colorado?

No. FEC candidate receipts and USAspending obligations are different datasets. $43,900,465.86 is campaign money reported by Colorado office-state candidates in 2016. It is not an award total and does not pay for federal contracts or grants. Do not add it to USAspending figures.