Monday was the deadline for federal and state campaigns to hand in their financial reports, and four of them revealed interesting stories in local races for the state House of Representatives.

In state House Districts 17 and 18, the Republican and Democratic candidates have raised serious amounts of money, indicating their positions as swing districts.

HD17, where incumbent Republican Mark Barker is facing Democrat Tony Exum, is expensive but on a relatively standard scale. Barker has pulled in almost $72,000, and Exum has raised more than $81,000.

Plenty of other contested races in targeted districts around the state are fairly similar.

But HD18 has drawn nearly $300,000, which is extraordinary given the strict campaign finance limits in Colorado.

Individuals, for instance, can give only as much as $200 to any House or Senate candidate for the general election or for the primary.

Despite that, both HD18 candidates have been raising solid money.

The Republican candidate in HD18 — local businesswoman Jennifer George — has taken in just less than $149,000. That’s more than any other targeted House race in the state, and only three Democrats in targeted Senate races have raised more.

Incumbent Democrat Pete Lee has taken in only slightly less — nearly $137,000. That’s still more than any other House candidate, except for Democratic incumbent Daniel Kagan, who has raised $148,000 — just a few hundred dollars less than George.

For a little more context, George has raised more than six other local legislators put together.

Lee raised just $2,000 less than the total of the same six.

And George and Lee have been spending at a fast pace.

George has tossed out almost $75,000 so far in the campaign, and she filed her candidacy in January. She spent more than $17,000 from Sept. 27 to Oct. 10, mostly on campaign mail pieces and TV and radio advertising.

Lee has taken a similar route and spent more than $20,000 on campaign mail pieces by Oct. 3. He also paid a neighborhood canvassing organization more than $4,000 on Oct. 8.

Bob Loevy, a retired political science professor at Colorado College, said that $4,000 was probably a waste of money.

“I live in HD18, and there are yard signs everywhere. My advice to candidates is very sweet and simple. No pins, no yard signs, no phone calls,” Loevy said. “Spend every dollar you can on television and direct mail.”

Loevy said there’s a very good reason why District 18 in particular has such a heavy purse — it was designed to pick fights.

“That’s exactly what the reapportionment commission intended,” said Loevy, referring to how House and Senate districts were redrawn late last year.

Loevy was a Republican appointee to the commission that redrew the districts. He said Democrats in El Paso County are often under-represented but pointed out there are still 91,000 of them.

HD 17, meanwhile, is not as big of a target for the Democrats because it’s not as winnable, Loevy said.

“Both parties see it as important. I don’t see it quite as significant. Partly because Barker has been pretty popular, so it’s probably just that that seat isn’t as easy for Democrats to win as 18,” Loevy said.

If money matters, the fight isn’t over. Exum has $22,000 yet to spend before the election, and Barker has $28,000.

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