Of note, landing a spot on Utah's top 100 individual donor list does not require much money by national standards. John Nichols, a 1-800-CONTACTS businessman, won the No. 100 spot by giving just $13,000.

Ron Fox, a GOP fund-raiser, says, "It's tough to raise money in Utah," echoing complaints of innumerable politicians through the years who say Utahns would rather give to churches and charity and too often figure that the only involvement they need in politics is to vote.

So, because few Utahns donate politically, it doesn't take much money to become a top player. Fox, for example, said people who give $5,000 here may gain personal "face time" with a national political star passing through the state. But in larger states like California, Texas or New York, he said donors would have to give 10 times that amount for equal access.

So, Fox said, political giving in Utah "is the cheapest giving around."

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