By Lindy Browning | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice
Adam Frisch, the Democratic nominee for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, has told his supporters in person, in debates, on social media and on national television, that he does not take corporate or PAC money.
The claims just don’t track with his own campaign filings to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Neither does the fact that he has more than $13 million dollars in his campaign account.
According to FEC records, Frisch has received 528 corporate donations through political-action committees. [See file at bottom of story]
Frisch’s PAC donors include ACTBLUE, BLUEHEN, Progressive Turnout Project, Democrats Reshaping America PAC, Progressive Choices PAC, Jeffries For Congress, and Beyond Thoughts And Prayers PAC, just to name a few.
FEC documents also reveal that Frisch has been funded by the far left and progressive Soros Family, and Steven Spielberg, one of Hollywood’s most outspoken progressives. Also contributing to his campaign are The Motion Picture Association, “big pharma”, corporate banks, corporate insurance companies, gun-control activists, Hollywood and out-of-state donors.
In fact, more than 40% of Frisch’s donations come from corporate PAC money.
Ironically, Frisch’s main line of attack against his opponent, Republican Jeff Hurd, is that he has taken corporate and PAC money, a fact that not only has Hurd acknowledged, but has said he is thankful to have.
In both debates between the candidates, one held in Pueblo and one held in Grand Junction in two geographic extremes of the district, Frisch repeated the claims that he does not, and will not take corporate or PAC money.
When Frisch attacked Hurd in the first debate in Grand Junction, Frisch told the audience, ”I’m not taking corporate PAC money,” then asked Hurd if he was going to return money from former Gov. Bill Owens and reject his endorsement. Hurd responded that he would not return the money and that “although he didn’t agree with the former governor on everything, he was honored by his endorsement.”
During the debate in Pueblo held the first week of October, Hurd responded to Frisch’s accusations that he would be voting in Congress to represent his donors. “You will be my bosses’ in Congress, and I hope you will hold me accountable on that. My first priority is the Constitution and then this district,” Hurd said to the audience. He added that he is his own man and will not be influenced by any donor.
Almost all of Frisch’s ads, both on social media and television, are attack ads that accuse Hurd of taking corporate money and PAC money, and then tell the viewer: “Unlike my opponent, I do not take corporate money or PAC money.”
On Sept. 30, Frisch said in a social media post, “Jeff Hurd is a shill for his extremist donors and party leaders.”
On Oct. 9, Frisch once again claimed that Hurd would fall in line with party leadership, because of donations that came from party leadership.
He reposted a Facebook post from Hurd’s page and said, “My opponent is on the campaign trail with [U.S. House] Speaker Mike Johnson…These are Hurd’s backers.”
Frisch doesn’t mention that Hakeem Jeffries, the Democrats’ House Minority Leader since 2023, has donated heavily to his own campaign, as noted in FEC filings.
If those are the standards that Frisch is using to try to convince voters that Hurd will be beholden to his donors, simply because they are his donors, then, it stands to reason the same would be true of Frisch’s donors.
Hurd’s donors include the U.S. Chamber Of Commerce, Associated Builders, Western Energy Alliance, Road To Freedom, Bold Action Conservatives, Protect Our Kids, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
The truth is, campaigns need funding, staff has to be paid, advertisement costs money. All campaigns rely on both large and small donors.
FEC records don’t lie; all campaigns rely on corporate and PAC donations, as well as small-dollar individual donations.
