Heated El Paso County campaigns for Colorado General Assembly seats are getting expensive, too.

The two Republican candidates racing to replace term-limited Senate President Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, are raising and spending the most ahead of the June 28 primary for state Senate District 12, which includes a huge swath of southern and eastern Colorado Springs.

Bob Gardner, a longtime Colorado Springs attorney who served eight years in the Colorado House, has raised $87,300, according to campaign finance reports filed through Monday. Gardner has spent $71,575, mostly on mailers, billboards and even a TV ad.

Gardner’s opponent, Rep. Gordon Klingenschmitt, has raised $63,806, including a $36,550 personal loan to his campaign. He’s spent most of the money on mailers and telephone calls.

Four outside groups not affiliated with either campaign have spent money in the race. All support Gardner.

“I did not plan to give that much, but when I saw $84,000 in outside spending, I decided to step up and try to compete,” said Klingenschmitt, who has served one term in the House. “I expected to raise and spend between $50,000 and $100,000. If it was the candidates doing that it would be normal, but to have secret outside rich people step in and spend $80,000 on my opponents side against me, is unusual.”

Gardner said he has been gratified by the level of direct support for his campaign and pleasantly surprised by the outside groups.

“I’m not surprised because, frankly, my campaigning is about effective conservative leadership and my opponent has drawn a lot of attention to himself, that when I go door to door, is very negative attention.”

A former Navy chaplain, Klingenschmitt is known for the sometimes controversial sermons through his for-profit online and cable television ministry “Pray in Jesus Name News.” In 2015 he was removed from a House committee after saying a pregnant Longmont woman had her baby cut from her womb because of “a curse of God upon America for our sin of not protecting innocent children in the womb.”

Klingenschmitt, who goes by “Chaps,” is going after Gardner’s voting record and accuses him of not being a true conservative. Klingenschmitt notes on his website that Gardner voted for a bill that implemented part of the Affordable Care Act in Colorado. That bill was co-sponsored by a Republican and set up a Colorado health care exchange that otherwise would have defaulted to the federal marketplace.

“His entire campaign is that I’m a really bad person,” Gardner said.

The Gazette found two organizations registered with the Secretary of State’s Office that have sent mailers in Colorado Springs.

The group Assuring Quality Healthcare Access for Colorado has spent $75,213.68 in four different expenditures to Denver-based advertising firms to create ads, a door hanger and scripts for canvassers supporting Bob Gardner.

Colorado Right Now paid $66,912.36 to Summitt Strategies for direct mail opposing Klingenschmitt and Jess Loban (Colorado Senate District 4). The report doesn’t say how much was spent on each candidate.

The second most expensive race is for House District 16.

Incumbent state Rep. Janak Joshi has raised $32,886, and his opponent Larry Liston has raised $56,645, according to the last campaign finance reports.

Liston served in the seat for eight years before he was term-limited. He has sat out the requisite time and is trying to unseat Joshi, who has served six years in the House.

And, per tradition, there is a showdown in House District 17 – which swaps between Republicans and Democrats depending on whether it’s a presidential election year.

In 2014 Republican Kit Roupe unseated Rep. Tony Exum. This year Exum is trying to take his seat back.

Roupe has raised $33,413 and Exum has brought in $42,018. Neither has an opponent in the primary.

–

Contact Megan Schrader: 286-0644

Twitter @CapitolSchrader

Rep. Gordon Klingenschmitt (left) and Bob Gardner (right)