Campaign funds flow freely

It's been billed as the most expensive Utah governor's race in history, and it's living up to it.

At Wednesday's campaign finance filing deadline, Republican Jon Huntsman Jr. had raised $2.5 million and spent $2.4 million. Democrat Scott Matheson Jr. had raised $1.9 million and spent $978,000.

However, the man who has spent the most in the governor's race is not even in the contest anymore — and hasn't been since May: Millionaire medical firm magnate Fred Lampropoulos, in total, spent more than $2.9 million of his own money over the past 18 months before finishing third and out of the running in the May 8 state GOP convention.

When all the major party candidates' gubernatorial spending so far this year is added up, more than $8.1 million has been spent trying to get a job that pays just over $100,000 a year.

Under Utah law, any candidate for legislative or statewide office can be booted off the ballot for failing to file campaign reports on time. No Republican missed Wednesday's filing. But at least one Democratic legislative candidate — Gene Bradford in Senate District 13 — may well have his name removed from the ballot, said Amy Naccarato, state elections director. Eight minor party legislative candidates also didn't file on time, she said.

While Lampropoulos set a gubernatorial personal spending record, Huntsman — the oldest son of Utah billionaire industrialist/philanthropist Jon Huntsman Sr. — is no shrinking violet when it comes to spending his own cash, either.

Between Huntsman Jr., his wife, immediate family members and the Huntsman chemical corporation, the candidate has put in just over $900,000 of the $2.5 million the campaign has raised. The $900,000 includes in-kind donations as well as cash and loans.

Overall, that's 36 percent of Huntsman's fund raising.

Self-financing

Campaign manager Jason Chaffetz said voters shouldn't be surprised that Huntsman and his family are helping fund the race.

"I think it's only natural that a candidate invests in his own campaign. I would think voters would worry if somebody didn't," Chaffetz said. Huntsman is also raising money "the old-fashioned way," he said — asking other people for it. "There's a very solid balance here."

Nearly $1.3 million of the campaign's cash came from inside Utah. Some 28 percent of the contributions — almost $489,000 — was from out of state.