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Washington • Senate Republican candidate Mike Lee holds a strong fundraising lead over his Democratic rival, Sam Granato, but the politician who's not in the race still boasts the biggest cash advantage: GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch.
Hatch's 2012 re-election campaign shows more than $2.3 million on hand, a fat stash meant to scare off potential competitors.
Meantime, Morgan Philpot's challenge to five-term 2nd District Rep. Jim Matheson appears to be running on fumes in the last laps before the Nov. 2 election. Philpot had just $16,759 in the bank at the end of September, barely enough to buy a handful of TV ads, and had $5,080 in debt.
Matheson still showed $362,464 in the bank and already had spent nearly 12 times as much as his Republican challenger. All told, Matheson has spent nearly $2 million on his race, including his Democratic primary.
Campaign finance reports for the past three months show Granato still playing catch-up with Lee in the bid to replace outgoing Sen. Bob Bennett. Lee still holds more than $234,000 in the bank, while Granato has more than $36,000 left.
Lee says his campaign has enough money to get through the general election.
"We can always use more," he said. "It's a tough economy, and we're doing what we can. [But] we'll be fine."
Lee still owes himself $125,000 he loaned his campaign earlier this year but received big checks from several Washington and New York-based political-action committees, as well as individual donors from Utah and elsewhere. He also retained legal counsel in Washington.
Granato, who raised nearly $93,000 during the quarter but spent all but $11,000 of it, pointed to his ability to snag 688 individual donors, mostly from Utah.
"Many Utah families are struggling to make ends meet and they don't have much extra income," Granato said. "It's humbling to know that so many everyday Utahns chose to take that little bit of extra money, even if it was only $5 or $10, and donate it to my campaign."
Hatch, who intends to seek a seventh term, raised most of his cash from individuals, though PACs make up a good chunk as well. Hatch's 1999 presidential exploratory committee still owes his campaign about $72,000.
Of note, Hatch paid Utah GOP Chairman Dave Hansen $5,000 on July 1, a continuation of payments Hatch had made to his former campaign manager who stepped down to run the party. Hatch's office said that was the last payment Hansen was owed.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz raised more than $106,000 — and spent three-quarters of that during the past three months — but has more than $134,000 on hand. Most of Chaffetz's money came from PACs, including the American Bankers Association, American Express and two mining association PACs.
Chaffetz also accepted $6,000 from the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers Association of America and $2,500 from the National Beer Wholesalers Association, the latter of which came weeks before a congressional hearing on legislation brought up in a committee on which Chaffetz sits. The 3rd District representative backs the position of the wholesalers.
"They concur in my position," Chaffetz said, "that alcohol regulation should be maintained on the state level."
The freshman congressman also received an interesting donation: $500 from Jess Hatch, the son of Sen. Orrin Hatch. Chaffetz has openly discussed running against Utah's senior senator in 2012.
Chaffetz's Democratic opponent, Karen Hyer, is running into the final weeks with little money. She raised nearly $4,000 in the third quarter, but spent more than $12,000, leaving her campaign with $2,000 left.
Tribune reporter Robert Gehrke contributed to this story. —
Homestretch funds
Candidates for federal office were required Friday to file reports detailing their campaign finances. The numbers represent what was raised and spent from July through September and how much cash and debt the campaigns had at the end of that period.
Senate GOP nominee Mike Lee
Raised • $510,161
Spent • $358,594
Cash • $234,196
Debt • $185,700
Notable • Lee still owes himself $125,000 he loaned his campaign before the state convention and has now retained D.C. legal counsel.
Senate Democratic nominee Sam Granato
Raised • $92,968
Spent • $81,072
Cash • $36,102
Debt • $15,000
Notable • WordPerfect co-founder and gay-rights advocate Bruce Bastian gave $2,400. Granato owes himself $15,000 for a loan when his campaign started.
Rep. Jim Matheson
Raised • $262,268
Spent • $939,202
Cash • $362,464
Debt • $0
Notable • Nearly three-fourths of the money Matheson has raised has come from PACs. Previously, he had ranked third in the House, with 84 percent of his contributions coming from PACs.
Source: Federal Election CommissionGOP 2nd District nominee Morgan Philpot
Raised • $69,852
Spent • $111,473
Cash • $ 16,759
Debt • $5,080
Notable • Philpot received a total of $9,600 from former Omniture CEO John Pestana and wife Heidi. His fundraising seems to be losing steam, however, slipping from the almost $86,000 he raised from April to June.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz
Raised • $106,804
Spent • $75,835
Cash • $134,456
Debt • 0
Notable • Chaffetz received $500 from Jess Hatch, the son of Sen. Orrin Hatch. Chaffetz may challenge Utah's senior senator in 2012.
Democratic nominee Karen Hyer
Raised • $3,850
Spent • $12,254
Cash • $2,000
Debt • 0
Sen. Orrin Hatch
Raised • $294,315
Spent • $183,389
Cash • $2,323,406
Debt • 0
Owed • $72,751
Notable • Hatch paid Utah Republican Party Chairman Dave Hansen $5,000 in July.