A group backed by a wealthy Denverite who’s trying to overhaul Colorado’s election system dropped $1 million on more than a dozen statehouse races just days before a hotly contested primary Election Day, pumping another huge sum of cash into contests already awash in outside spending and dark money.

Let Colorado Vote Action was registered with the Colorado Secretary of State on Monday, eight days before Election Day. By Wednesday, it had doled out between $20,000 and $150,000 to support eight Democrats and five Republicans running in contested primaries. Much of the $1.08 million in total funds went to several races that have already seen significant outside spending from organizations boosting more moderate candidates.

The group is backed by Kent Thiry, the Denver-based former CEO of the dialysis giant DaVita who’s supporting a ballot measure to overhaul the state’s election process. In a statement to The Denver Post on Saturday morning, Thiry wrote that it was “time for many of us to stand up for the majority in the middle. We are supporting responsible candidates in each party who believe in civil and bipartisan behavior, and who believe they represent all the voters in their districts.”

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