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With a week until the election, Gary Herbert and Peter Corroon have spent more than $4.4 million battling for the Utah Governor's Office.

The total spent by the two candidates is the second highest in Utah history, with the exception of the 2004 gubernatorial race in which Jon Huntsman Jr. and Scott Matheson Jr. spent a combined $6.5 million, although Huntsman also had costly Republican convention and primary contests that year.

Herbert has spent $2.5 million on his race, outpacing Corroon, who spent $1.9 million. The totals include spending from their campaign and political action committee accounts.

Disclosure reports filed on Tuesday indicated Herbert had more money available to him during the final week of the race. The Herbert campaign had nearly $456,000 in the bank, compared with a little more than $286,000 for Corroon.

"A lot of people like what the governor has done during his term in office — and what he has promised to do — and they stepped up and contributed, and the governor appreciates that," said Herbert campaign spokesman Don Olsen. "We are in a really good position with a week to go."

The Corroon campaign drew on a much wider pool of donors, receiving more than four times as many contributions as the Herbert campaign. The average contribution to the Herbert campaign totaled $1,970, compared with $362 for Corroon.

"I think it shows that Peter has a tremendous amount of support, and our fundraising actually increased in August and September, when lots of the issues were coming out about the governor and his fundraising," said Corroon campaign manager Donald Dunn. "I think it just shows that Peter has a wide range of support."

Olsen said the show of support that counts is public support in the polls and in voting booths.

"I would much rather have large numbers of votes than large numbers of donors," he said.

During the campaign, Corroon targeted Herbert's aggressive fundraising and questioned whether well-heeled donors had received special treatment from the Herbert administration.

Many of Herbert's donors had exceptionally deep pockets. The governor received 83 contributions that exceeded $10,000, and nearly half the money he raised came from big-dollar contributions.

In races for the Utah Legislature, incumbents are generally running away with the money race. Officeholders in contested races raised a median of $22,677 this year, compared with a median of $2,011 raised by their challengers.

Candidates in races for open seats raised a median of $14,801. Incumbents in uncontested races raised a median of $16,046. By party, Republican legislative candidates raised $2.3 million, while Democrats raised $1.5 million.

Some candidates, many of them leaders, raised much more than the average.

They included: House Speaker David Clark, R-Santa Clara, who brought in $173,936; Senate Assistant Minority Whip Karen Mayne, D-West Valley, $134,690; Sen. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake City, $106,036; Sen. Brent Goodfellow, D-West Valley, $101,938; and Senate Assistant Majority Whip Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, $98,579.

Among the 67 incumbent legislators who have challengers, only three were outraised by opponents: Reps. Jay Seegmiller, D-Sandy; Steve Sandstrom, R-Orem; and Lynn Hemingway, D-Holladay.

Seegmiller and Sandstrom have been outraised by 2-to-1 margins, and Hemingway by a 3-to-2 margin. But all said they have raised what they need for quality campaigns.

"There's only so much money you can spend before you start annoying people," Seegmiller said.

The Democrat unseated then-House Speaker Greg Curtis two years ago in a close race, and Republicans have him in their sights.

"It's one of our highest targets," said Salt Lake County Republican Chairman Thomas Wright.

Seegmiller concedes his race is again close, thanks, in part, to spending by his challenger, Derek Brown. Hemingway said he is unsure how close his race is with Val Bateman — and Bateman says the same. But Sandstrom says he was outspent 2-to-1 two years ago by the same opponent, Steve Baugh, but won easily — and he expects similar results this year.

Only a handful of other races are even relatively close in the money race.

Among incumbents in such races are: Rep. Neil Hansen, D-Ogden, who outraised challenger Jeremy Peterson by $599; Rep. Larry Wiley, D-West Valley, who outraised Grace Sperry by $736; and Rep. Trisha Beck, D-Sandy, who outraised former Rep. LaVarr Christensen by $1,580.

Also, Rep. Keith Grover, R-Provo, outraised Deon Turley by $2,247; Rep. Susan Duckwork, D-Magna, outraised Noel Fields by $3,727; and Rep. Tim Cosgrove, D-Murray, outraised former NBA player Shawn Bradley by $5,001. —

The cost of elections

Gov. Gary Herbert has outraised and outspent challenger Peter Corroon, though not by a large amount. Combined, their spending so far marks the second -most-expensive governor's race in Utah history.

In legislative contests, most incumbents trounced challengers in the fundraising arena. Leaders were among those raking in the biggest dollars.