Meanwhile, Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, who is not up for re-election this year, received 73 percent of his donations from individuals from out of state. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, had 71 percent from out of state — compared to just 16 percent for his Democratic challenger, Pete Ashdown.

Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, received 48 percent of individual donations from out of state. His in-party challenger, John Jacob, provided most of his money himself, but the little he had from other individuals all came from Utahns. (Democratic challenger Christian Burridge has not yet filed campaign disclosure forms.)

Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, is an exception among incumbents and receives relatively little from out of state — just 27 percent of money from individual donors. His Republican challenger, state Rep. LaVar Christensen, R-Draper, received just 1 percent from out of state and also provided most of his own money.

Courting Utahns

Politicians have long said it is difficult to raise money in Utah because it does not have an abundance of wealthy people, and many Utahns seem to prefer to donate more to churches and charities than politics.

But Matheson, who has raised about $150,000 from individual Utah donors this election cycle, said Utah money for politics is there — if politicians are willing to work hard for it.

"If you are willing to work it and talk to people, you can find it. Most people who give to me know me well," he says.

Another example is that Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney recently raised $1.2 million in Utah to help his presidential campaign, thanks to contacts he made while heading the Salt Lake City Olympic Committee.

Matheson says he spends four to six hours a week on the telephone seeking funds. Because members of Congress cannot use federal phones or office space for such activities, that forces him to work out of his campaign or party offices in Utah and Washington.

"The people who know me are in Utah, so that's where I raise the most," he says.

But, Matheson — who hopes to raise $2 million for this year's campaign in his heavily Republican district — adds that most easy-to-find, "low-hanging fruit" for incumbents is out-of-state money from special-interest political action committees and lobbyists.

That is probably why three of the top 10 areas for individuals donating to Utah's congressional races this year are the District of Columbia, Virginia and Maryland — places where lobbyists tend to live around the nation's capital. It is also where most PACs are based.

'Where the fish are'

Dave Hansen, Hatch's campaign manager, acknowledges: "To a great degree, we can get money easier (around the nation's capital) than in Utah. Remember, the senator spends a lot of time in D.C., so he can do a lot of fund-raisers there."

But Hansen says outside money does not persuade Hatch to act in ways to please outside donors.