Education reform group continues to spend big in state board race

A political committee linked to the nonprofit Democrats for Education Reform continues to pour money into a closely watched State Board of Education race.

Raising Colorado, which may raise and spend an unlimited amount of money but cannot coordinate with individual candidates, spent more than $86,000 during the last half of October to support Democrat Rebecca McClellan’s bid to represent Colorado’s 6th Congressional District on the state board, new campaign finance records show.

Colorado Votes 2016 | For more coverage on issues and races this election click here.McClellan is challenging Republican incumbent Debora Scheffel, who was elected to represent the district in 2010. Since then, the district has been dramatically redrawn to include more Democratic and unaffiliated voters, making it Colorado’s most competitive congressional district.

Democrats believe McClellan’s campaign is their best chance to shift the balance of power on the state board, which is controlled by Republicans by one vote.

During the same reporting period, Oct. 13 through Oct. 26, McClellan’s own campaign raised $666, putting her total war chest for the primary and general election at about $46,000. Scheffel raised nearly $5,000 during the last reporting period, putting her total for the year at $17,622.

Scheffel and McClellan combined have raised more money than any other two opponents for a seat on the board in more than a decade, records show.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that the Scheffel-McClellan race has become the most expensive race for a seat on the state board in more than a decade.