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SALT LAKE CITY — Republican congressional candidate Mia Love's hefty $1.5 million fundraising haul in the past three months includes contributions from more than 19,000 individual donors — including nearly 18,000 from outside Utah.
Candidates in all four Utah congressional districts were required to file disclosure reports with the Federal Election Commission by late Wednesday, detailing their third-quarter receipts and expenditures.
"We had a tremendous quarter," Love's campaign manager, Dave Hansen, said.
But Doug Owens, the Democrat in the 4th District race to replace retiring Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, said the latest filings show his opponent is running "a national, ideologically driven campaign."
Owens raised just less than $300,000 from July through September, including money from 1,200 individual donors. His communications director, Taylor Morgan, said all but 57 of Owens' individual donors live in Utah.
"I think it ought to be clear to the voters through these fundraising results who's got Utah's interest at heart and who's got a national partisan interest at heart," Owens said.
Love, who would be the country's first black Republican congresswoman if elected, attracted national attention and plenty of money in her 2012 bid to unseat Matheson. She lost that race by less than 800 votes.
There are lots of Republicans who look at this and say getting someone who is a black woman from Utah, that's something we can get behind and support because that's something the party needs to attend to.
–U. political science professor Matthew Burbank
This time her campaign put a lot of effort into compiling lists of donors around the country, Hansen said, describing the voters solicited as conservatives who have traditionally given to political campaigns. He said tea party voters were only a small percentage.
"There's a great deal of interest in her campaign. There's a great deal of interest in her," Hansen said. Her contributors "like the idea of getting government under control, making the federal government smaller so individuals can be bigger."
Hansen said the average amount contributed by a Utahn to Love's campaign was $104, while the average amount contributed by donors from outside the state was about $63.
University of Utah political science professor Matthew Burbank said Love's numbers are impressive, especially the size of her donor base, given that she's not running against an incumbent this year.
Burbank said she also appeals to Republicans around the country looking to counter claims by Democrats that the GOP is ignoring women and minority voters.
"There are lots of Republicans who look at this and say getting someone who is a black woman from Utah, that's something we can get behind and support because that's something the party needs to attend to," Burbank said.
Love reported nearly $773,000 in cash on hand at the end of the reporting period while Owens had just over $189,500.
Hansen said Love will boost her spending on TV commercials from about $400,000 to $500,000 and buy more radio time, signs and "everything else you need to get the message out in the final days."
Owens said he's "content we have enough to get our message out" and may bump up the campaign's TV buy. He was expected to spend about $250,000 on campaign commercials after starting to air them a week later than planned.
Democrats in Utah's other congressional races are challenging Republican incumbents and also lag behind their opponents in fundraising.
1st District
GOP Rep. Rob Bishop's Democratic challenger, Donna McAleer, raised $94,350 for this third quarter ending Sept. 30 and has $101,600 going into the final stretch before the Nov. 4 election.
The majority of the campaign contributions in her race against the six-term Republican incumbent come from individuals.
McAleer's campaign manager Spencer Bitton said records through June show individual campaign contributions at 86 percent with close to 14 percent from political action committees. In this quarterly filing, McAleer received $5,000 from the Laborers International Union of North America and $500 from the American Federation of Teachers.
Bishop’s war chest stands at $120,700 for the third quarter, and he has $123,000 on hand to spend. His PAC contributors include multiple industry groups such as Anadarko, PacifiCorp and Union Pacific.
Bitton said the McAleer campaign has prepared a television and cable ad spot that will begin to air, though no dates have been scheduled. The campaign also plans a direct mailer to go out in the weeks left before Nov. 4.
2nd District
Contributions to Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, seeking a second term, far outpaced that of his Democratic challenger, state Sen. Luz Robles, D-Salt Lake.
Stewart’s campaign raised $155,807 since July, according to quarterly filings, while Robles has reported collecting $16,300. With three weeks remaining before the election, Stewart’s war chest is at a comfortable $300,100.
Robles’ campaign reported $36,600 on hand leading up to the election, an amount that she said might be inaccurate. The report also indicated the campaign hadn’t spent any money July through September, which Robles said is incorrect and will be amended.
The campaign’s finances and reporting had been left to a contractor, Robles said, who was unavailable Thursday for medical reasons. Robles also had trouble with FEC filings last quarter, missing the July filing deadline.
Robles had set a goal to raise $1 million when she announced her candidacy in September 2013, an amount she said would be necessary to reclaim the 2nd District for her party. Matheson held the 2nd congressional seat for 10 years before leaving to win in the newly formed 4th District in 2012.
With less than a month remaining and limited resources, Robles said she will focus on grass-roots canvassing where possible in the large district and efforts to get Utah’s Democrats to the polls, she said.
3rd District
Three-term Republican incumbent Jason Chaffetz raised $165,363 between July 1 and Sept. 30 and now sits with $305,347 on hand.
His soft-spoken Democratic challenger Brian Wonnacott raised $2,200 in the third quarter, giving him $2,360 cash on hand to spend in the final weeks before the Nov. 4 election.
Wonnacott's campaign manager, Rob Miller, said the camp is traveling through Price, Moab and other parts of the district and distributing 4-by-8 signs to boost name recognition. Miller says they also plan to place newspaper ads in the days leading up to the election, and a website will be launched “any day.”
Miller, who stepped into the campaign just five days prior to the debate with Chaffetz, said what Wonnacott lacks in public speaking ability he makes up for in sincerity and humility.
“I’ve worked in the Democratic Party for over a decade, and he’s by far one of my favorite candidates that I’ve ever worked with just because he’s a common, everyday guy,” Miller said. “He’s not a real articulate speaker. He’s a little shy. But his heart is in the right place, and that’s why I took the campaign."
During their debate on Oct. 7, Chaffetz identified Wonnacott's apparent discomfort and thanked him for “having the guts” to run for Congress.
Contributing: Amy Joi O'Donoghue, McKenzie Romero, Morgan Jacobsen
