Incumbents hold early edge in money
So far the incumbents have more money than their announced challengers or would-be opponents, although more contribution reports will come between now and November's election.
Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, raised $108,300 during the last quarter of 2005, bringing his total campaign contributions to $325,715.26, according to the year-end report. Cannon kicked off his re-election bid last month. He has about $97,000 cash on hand and has made no personal loans to his own bid to retain Utah's 3rd District seat.
Meanwhile, Cannon's challenger, John Jacob, also a Republican, has loaned $79,000 of his own money to his campaign but also has received $7,600 in individual contributions, according to the FEC records. Jacob has $3,493 cash on hand and has spent $83,106 so far, according to the latest report.
Jacob has said in the past he is willing to put $1 million of his own money into the race. There is no legal limit on what an individual running for office can contribute to his or her own race out of their own pocket. Family members are limited to the same $2,100 per election as other individuals.
State Rep. Lavar Christensen, R-Draper, has given $150,000 to himself to start his campaign to take over for Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, although he has not officially declared his candidacy yet. According to the FEC reports, he received $26,300 in individual contributions through the end of 2005. He has $176,300 cash on hand.
Matheson has received $748,364 in contributions through the end of 2005, with just under $199,000 coming in during the last quarter. He has made no personal loans to his re-election bid, and his campaign reported $647,780 in Tuesday's filing.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, has $2.1 million on hand at the end of 2005 out of the $3.5 million he has raised so far.
His challenger, Democrat Pete Ashdown, founder of XMission, an Internet service provider, has loaned $13,015 to his race against Hatch through the end of 2005 based on Tuesday's report, and he has received $18,781 in contributions. He has $2,043 in the bank and has spent just under $30,000 so far.
"We take him as a very serious candidate," said Dave Hansen, Hatch's campaign director. "I don't know how much he is willing to put into the race."
Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, had $43,437 in the bank by the end of last year. Although lower than his House counterparts, he has no announced challenger either within the Republican party or from the Democrats at this point.
The report from Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, was not available yet Wednesday, but he is not up for re-election this year.
E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com
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