DENVER – In the race to replace term-limited Senate President Bill Cadman in Senate District 12, former state Rep. Bob Gardner has out-raised his opponent, current state Rep. Gordon Klingenschmitt.

The two have already exchanged a few barbs in the race and it’ll likely be a rough primary in June.

Gardner, a Colorado Springs attorney who served in the House for eight years until 2014, raised $64,675 and spent $54,498.

Klingenschmitt has raised a healthy $45,607, but that includes $21,550 from himself. The evangelical minister for his online and TV-based non-profit Pray in Jesus Name Ministries said he’s trying to match his grassroots donors dollar for dollar.

His single largest donations are $400 from a healthcare worker in Colorado Springs and $400 from a leader of the Virginia-based company that his non-profit paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in 2014 to send religious mailers to potential donors.

Klingenschmittt said there’s nothing inappropriate about that donation.

“They are friends of mine. I’m not surprised that they support my campaign because they believe in what I’m doing,” Klingenschmitt said. “For one of my co-workers to donate is much different than 112 corporate lobbyists giving to Bob Gardner’s campaign. You’re straining at a gnat but you’re swallowing a camel.”

Gardner’s single largest contributor in the first half of the year was $500 from a small donor committee for chiropractors. He also received several maximum individual contributions of $400 from local home builders, an employee of NOAA, a car dealer and owner of a construction company.

“Our campaign has raised contributions primarily from people in Colorado and in the Colorado Springs community – that’s where we focused our fundraising and that’s who we intend to serve,” Gardner said. “It’s interesting that my opponent has concerns about raising money from lobbyists. I’ve seen emails where my opponent begged for money from lobbyists before the session.”

In the latest campaign finance reports filed on Monday, Gardner reported 112 donations and of those 22 were from self-declared lobbyists or attorneys with well-known Denver lobbying law firms.

“I have support from a lot of different industries, business groups, citizen groups and I’m proud to have that support,” Gardner said. “I think it’s reflective of my eight years in the state house in which I provided effective conservative leadership.”

Klingenschmitt said he thinks it’s a reflection of who Gardner will serve when he’s in office.

In another high-profile race, incumbent Rep. Janak Joshi was out-raised in House District 16 but he said he’s not concerned.

Joshi has raised $21,468 so far plus a $5,000 personal loan to his campaign.

Larry Liston, who held the seat from 2005 to 2012 and then sat out the required period for term limits, raised $37,380.

The two have about the same cash on hand.

Incumbent Republican Kit Roupe has raised $26,779 and spent $15,281 so far even though she won’t meet her opponent until the general election in November. Then she will likely face Tony Exum, a Democrat who held the seat for a single term. Exum has raised $9,857.

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Contact Megan Schrader at 286-0644

Twitter: @CapitolSchrader

Bob Gardner

Gordon Klingenschmitt