Huntsman's coffers filling slowly in his re-election campaign

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. doesn't have much of a war chest for his re-election campaign this year — yet.

According to filings made Monday for his two political action committees, Huntsman has a total of just under $222,500 available, compared to the $3.5 million he spent winning the governor's office in 2004.

And Huntsman has yet to retire all of his campaign debt from that race, a line of credit at Zions Bank. Money to pay off the $300,000 still owed was expected to be raised from the governor's annual fundraising gala held in November.

But even though Huntsman's campaign is in the red, there appears to be little concern he'll have any trouble coming up with whatever amount his re-election ends up costing. The price tag, of course, will largely depend on how tough his competition is.

No one has come forward yet to challenge the governor, who has held a high approval rating throughout his first term after beating one of the strongest Democratic candidates to run for governor in recent years, former U.S. Attorney Scott Matheson.

"The governor will wage a competitive campaign," Huntsman spokeswoman Lisa Roskelley said Monday. "He'll raise what's necessary."

She said the governor will start soliciting campaign contributions after the 2008 Legislature ends in early March. Although he held just one major fundraiser in 2007, November's gala, she said he'll hold a number of "smaller, more personal-type events" in the coming months.

Roskelley said the past campaign debt remains at about $300,000. Year-end filings for both his Huntsman for Governor and Governor's Special Initiatives Office PACs show the bank has received about $27,000 in interest payments throughout 2007.

Huntsman has spent a total of some $381,000 from both PACs, including the payments to the bank over the past year, and raised more than $700,000 — most of it, about $440,000, in the last quarter primarily from the gala.

The money went toward, for example, printing and mailing the governor's Christmas cards, as well as for expenses associated with hosting the gala including more than $133,000 to the Grand America Hotel, where the event was held.

The governor received nearly 150 contributions over the past year. Topping the list was $20,000 from Marc Bingham, a Vernal native who made his fortune from Phone Directories Company Inc., one of the largest independent providers of yellow page directories.

Roskelley said Bingham, who sold the company in 2005, won an auction at the gala for a deer hunting tag valued at $10,000 that had been contributed by Donald Peay, founder of Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife.

SelectHealth, formerly IHC Health Plans, gave Huntsman $15,000, as did the Sinclair Oil Corp. Rocky Mountain Power gave Huntsman $10,000; Qwest, $5,000; and the Questar employee PAC, $5,000. Tim Riester, head of the Riester-Robb ad agency, gave $10,000.

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E-mail: lisa@desnews.com