WASHINGTON — Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, has raised more than $900,000 in his bid to retain Utah's 2nd District seat, giving him the biggest war chest so far of the state's U.S. House races for this year's election.
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All House candidates with more than $5,000 in contributions had to file reports with the Federal Elections Commission by midnight Saturday, listing contributions received and expenditures made during the first quarter of 2006.
Matheson received $172,837 in the first quarter, putting his contributions for this election at $924,201.91. He has $781,762 cash on hand, according to his report.
The largest contributor to Matheson's campaign was the Pricewaterhouse Coopers political action committee, which donated $5,000 this period. He also received substantial support from PACs established by banks and bank employees, investment firms, unions and energy companies.
"I am pleased that a variety of support from across the political spectrum are responding to my candidacy," Matheson said in a statement. "With this strong level of support, I will once again be able to aggressively get out my message during the coming months."
Matheson's challenger state Rep. LaVar Christensen, a Republican, raised $9,450 since Jan. 1 and has received $35,750 in contributions for this election, according to his report. He has $168,843 cash on hand. Christensen has lent his campaign more than $150,000 so far and has $161,056 in total campaign debt.
All of his donations came from three south Salt Lake County residents: $5,000 from attorney William Rawlings and $2,100 each from Jed Bindrup, a plastic surgeon, and his wife, Ann. He received no money from PACs.
The five other challengers listed with the Utah Elections Office did not have reports filed with the FEC. Constitution Party candidate W. David Perry said he has not reached the $5,000 threshold yet, nor has Libertarian candidate Austin Sherwood Lett. Calls to the other candidates were not returned.
Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, running for a sixth term representing the state's 3rd Congressional District has raised more than $100,000 this past quarter, bringing his election's total to $428,811. He has $46,040 cash on hand.
Cannon's biggest donor this period was the National Restaurant Association PAC, which donated a total of $5,500. He also received substantial donations from technology companies, utilities and Realtor PACs.
Republican challenger John Jacob lent his campaign another $126,000 in the first quarter, bringing his personal loan total to $205,000, according to the report. He has received $500 in contributions since Jan. 1 and $8,100 in contributions to date. He has $6,708 cash on hand.
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.
Cannon's other Republican challenger Merrill Cook has raised $16,955 since Jan. 1, which is also his total amount raised to date. He has $15,263 cash on hand.
Cannon's Libertarian challenger Philip Lear Hallman said he has received no contributions so far, and none of the other candidates, including Democratic candidate Christian Burridge, has reports in the FEC database.
In the race for Utah's 1st District seat, Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah has received $40,468 in contributions since Jan. 1. Contributors have given him $127,799 and he has $63,397 cash on hand, according to his report.
Bishop's chief of staff Scott Parker said he is satisfied with where the campaign fund is right now and that it is more than he had at this time in previous elections.
Democratic challenger Steven Olsen received $2,125 in contributions in the first quarter and has lent his campaign $10,867.31. He has $7,755.86 cash on hand.
Challenger John Thompson, an unaffiliated candidate who has since withdrawn from the race, raised $41,177 but received no contributions this past quarter, according to his report. He has $529.81 cash on hand and has spent $68,833 so far. He lent his campaign $32,000.
State party conventions will be held in May and Utah's primary election is June 27.
To see the candidates' complete filings, go to www.fec.gov.
E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com; jloftin@desnews.com.