Gov. Norm Bangerter spent $1.3 million on his re-election campaign, Democrat Ted Wilson spent just over $1 million and independent candidate Merrill Cook spent about $500,000.
The difference is that Bangerter, who won the three-way race, and Wilson didn't spend any of their own money.Cook spent $447,747 of his companies' money, plus several thousand donated by his wife and immediate family. That means Cook raised only about $50,000 from individuals, or 10 percent of the total amount spent.
Cook said early in the campaign that he would match dollar-for-dollar what he raised from individuals and businesses but not spend more than that. He was sensitive to the charge he tried to buy the 1985 Salt Lake City mayor's race where he spent $500,000 of his own money.
However, several months into his gubernatorial campaign, Cook said contributions weren't coming in as hoped, so he would spend between $200,000 and $300,000 of his own money and raise about $100,000. "I plan on spending two-thirds of the campaign myself," he said then.
But in the end, Cook spent about $450,000 of his own money, contributions made by Cook Associates and Cook Slurry Co., the two firms he owns with his father. Cook is a millionaire, the major part of his businesses being Cook Slurry, which produces a mining explosive.
If you combine the $500,000 Cook spent of his own money on the 1985 Salt Lake mayor's race and the several hundred thousand dollars he spent on his 1986 Salt Lake County Commission race - both of which he lost - Cook has spent over $1 million the past four years on unsuccessful campaigns.
In all three gubernatorial campaigns this year, much of the money went to buy media advertising, mainly TV. Wilson spent $542,000 on media, Bangerter spent $428,000 and Cook spent $426,000. Cook said all along that he would be competitive in buying TV time, and he was.
The largest contributor to Ban-gerter's campaign was his own Governor's Ball PAC, which gave more than $120,000. The ball is held once a year, and money raised from it goes toward political activities of the governor, travel expenses for his wife and some expenses in running the Governor's Mansion.
Wilson's statement lists a $10,000 loan repayment to the candidate, but Wilson said that really wasn't a loan and shouldn't have been listed as such. "I took an unpaid leave of absence from the Hinckley Institute of Politics to run and lost more than $30,000 in wages," Wilson said. "That $10,000 is a stipend to me during the campaign."
Wilson said his financial report shows a small campaign deficit. "But you are always billed for things at the end of a campaign that you question. There may be no debt, but if there is it is small, only several thousand dollars."
Cook shows $12,000 in cash at the end of the campaign, Bangerter shows a $31,000 surplus.
Here are some of the main contributors to Wilson's and Bangerter's campaigns:
Wilson: Utah State Democratic Committee, $33,750; Teamsters Union PAC, $33,000; AFL-CIO, $13,500; Union Pacific Railroad, $5,000; Utah Public Employees' Association, $29,500; Mountain Bell PAC, $5,000; Geneva Steel, $20,000; National Democratic Governor's Committee, $20,000; Savage Industries, $20,000; Utah Education Association, $30,000.
Bangerter: National Republican Committee, $110,000; Southern Pacific Railroad, $10,000; Union Pacific Railroad, $2,000; Geneva Steel, $10,000; Jon Huntsman, $33,000; Joe Cannon, president of Geneva Steel, $10,000; Chris Cannon (former Geneva vice president), $10,000; Word Perfect, $25,000; BP Minerals (Kennecott), $10,000; Sen. Jake Garn, $5,000.