Eric Lach October 22, 2010, 1:43 PM

If Colorado Republican gubernatorial nominee Dan Maes didn’t exist, Colorado Democrats would have to invent him. The latest news about this busted campaign is that the Maes family figures as the campaign’s second-biggest expense.

The Denver Post reports that nearly a third of the $304,000 Maes has raised during his campaign has gone to reimburse him and his daughter, Jordan Maes. The campaign has reimbursed Dan Maes $71,658, while Jordan Maes has been paid $14,101 for work and expenses.

The amount of Dan Maes’ expenses, which include mileage, travel, phone, food and drinks for fundraisers, “misc expenses,” subscriptions, parking and trips to Wal-Mart, may be unprecedented, said the Colorado secretary of state’s office.

The Maes campaign says that its lack of a credit card is the reason for the high number of reimbursements. He described his campaign to the Post as a “cash and carry” operation.

“Every once in a while we might have left a wallet home and had to use a personal check or cash,” Maes said.

The Post reports that Democrat John Hickenlooper has not been personally reimbursed for any campaign expenses. Third-party candidate Tom Tancredo has been reimbursed “$3,822 for advertising, office equipment and travel.”

“Dan has stated that the difference in reimbursements among the campaigns is due to the fact that his campaign does not have a credit card,” Maes spokesperson Nate Strauch told TPM.

The TPM Poll Average for this race shows Hickenlooper (45.2) leading Tancredo (39.6%) and Maes (10.7%).

2010 elections, CO-GOV, Dan Maes, John Hickenlooper, Tom Tancredo