Colorado media uncritically reported Wadhams' claim that opponent outspent Allard in Senate races

Summary: The Colorado Statesman, the Rocky Mountain News, and Colorado's Morning News on Newsradio 850 KOA either reported or failed to challenge the inaccurate claim by Colorado Republican Party chairman Dick Wadhams that Democrat Tom Strickland spent more than Republican U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard in their 1996 and 2002 U.S. Senate campaigns. Federal Election Commission reports show that Allard spent more than Strickland during the latter matchup.

In recent reports, several Colorado media outlets uncritically repeated the talking point of Dick Wadhams, campaign manager for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer, that retiring Republican U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard was outspent twice by his Democratic opponent, Tom Strickland, when he ran for Senate in 1996 and 2002. In fact, Federal Election Commission (FEC) data show that while Strickland outspent Allard when the two candidates competed in 1996 for Colorado's open U.S. Senate seat, Allard outspent Strickland during his 2002 re-election campaign.

The Colorado Statesman reported Wadhams' assertion in an article by John Schroyer published May 30 (accessed in the print edition; also available online by subscription), as did the Rocky Mountain News in a June 2 article by Lynn Bartels. Similarly, Newsradio 850 KOA co-hosts April Zesbaugh and Steffan Tubbs did not challenge Wadhams on the June 2 broadcast of Colorado's Morning News when he stated, "[I]f outspending your opponent was the only thing that determined victory, Senator Wayne Allard would not have won two elections, and Bill Owens would not have won his first campaign for governor."

As Colorado Media Matters has noted, Wadhams, who in addition to being Schaffer's campaign manager has been chairman of the Colorado Republican Party since March 2007, similarly made the unsubstantiated and inaccurate claim that in the 2006 race for Colorado's 4th Congressional District, Republican incumbent Marilyn Musgrave was "grossly outspent" by her Democratic and Reform Party challengers.

FEC data show that in the 1996 race the Strickland and Allard campaign disbursements were $2,894,916 and $2,233,429, respectively. However, in the 2002 race, Allard's campaign spent $5,223,592 while Strickland's spent $5,160,517.

In an entry on its website for the 2008 Colorado U.S. Senate race between Schaffer and his Democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, the National Journal also provided a table showing final voting and spending results for the 1996 and 2002 Senate races:

PREVIOUS ELECTION RESULTS

From John Schroyer's May 30 article in The Colorado Statesman, "Schaffer lets inner voice guide him":

He also pointed to Udall's fund-raising advantage; Schaffer has so far been out-raised by almost $2 million. Wadhams, however, is quick to note that $1.5 million of that was transferred into Udall's Senate campaign from an account for his House campaigns.

He doesn't seem to care much about the money, however. It's more about the message.

"We will not out-raise Udall, but on the other hand, we don't have to," Wadhams said. "The candidate who raises the most money does not always win. Wayne Allard was outspent twice by Tom Strickland. Bill Owens was dramatically outspent by Gail Schoettler in 1998, when he won as the first Republican governor in 24 years."

From Lynn Bartels' June 2 article in the Rocky Mountain News, "Money makes the pols go 'round: Senate campaign likely to set new spending record":

Two days after winning his party's nomination, U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer went back to a necessary chore in politics: raising money.

"A lot of it is one on one," said Schaffer's campaign manager, Dick Wadhams. "We're not going to raise more money than (Democratic congressman) Mark Udall, but we are going to raise what we need to win this race."

The match between Schaffer and Udall is expected to be the costliest political battle in Colorado history.

The last U.S. Senate race in Colorado, between Republican Pete Coors and Democrat Ken Salazar in 2004, cost around $16 million.

Federal finance reports show Schaffer had $2.2 million in the bank for the campaign at the end of March, while Udall had $4.2 million. The two candidates are vying for the open U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican Wayne Allard.

Having the most money doesn't always translate into winning, Wadhams said, noting that Allard was outspent by his opponents.

From the June 2 broadcast of Newsradio 850 KOA's Colorado's Morning News:

ZESBAUGH: Will McCain pick your [Colorado Republican State Convention] keynote speaker, Mitt Romney, for his running mate; would you like to see that?

WADHAMS: Oh, I think he -- Romney would be an outstanding vice presidential nominee, and I think he's one of the front-runners. But I think Senator McCain is going to take a look at a lot of good people, and that decision has a long way to go.

TUBBS: Good morning, Dick. I think for those of us not closely connected with politics like you are still even in 2008 are amazed at the potential cost and the likely cost of a U.S. Senate race. What do you predict between Schaffer, your candidate, and Udall?

WADHAMS: Well, this is probably going to be the most expensive Senate race in Colorado history. We think we need to raise around $6 million to win this race. We will not out-raise Boulder liberal Udall. He's an incumbent congressman; he is the favorite of very well-heeled liberal organizations, and so he'll outspend us. But if outspending your opponent was the only thing that determined victory, Senator Wayne Allard would not have won two elections, and Bill Owens would not have won his first campaign for governor.

ZESBAUGH: Sticking with the money angle, what about the presidential race? That's going to be outrageously expensive, isn't it, to fight either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton?

WADHAMS: Well, it will, but I will say this, that once again, the intensity of the media coverage overall I think is even more impactful of a presidential campaign. You have to raise enough money to do what you need to do, but ultimately that's not the determinant of who's going to win.

TUBBS: I know the secretary of state's office will determine it officially, but what do you think as far as voter turnout?

WADHAMS: Oh, I think it's going to be a very high turnout. I think the intensity of the interest in this presidential campaign and politics in general is at a historic high, and I think we're going to see a very high turnout in Colorado.

—E.B. & J.F.B.