In one case, Davis said state Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, threatened to sue Davis for slander after a panel discussion in which Davis called for ethics reform to deal with junkets. Davis mentioned a junket Bramble took to Italy with lobbyist friends but did not mention Bramble's name.

Davis believes Bramble was trying to intimidate him and called the incident an example of Republican arrogance in Utah County.

Bramble faces a challenge from RaDene Hatfield, president of the Provo Council PTA. Bramble and Hatfield had a rough encounter on a Provo street while campaigning.

Bramble also called police to a Provo home before a debate with Hatfield because of a confrontation he and family members had with a man who wanted to videotape the event.

Hatfield has raised a respectable $35,131, but that is dwarfed by the $94,000 spent by Bramble in this election cycle. And Bramble still had more than $86,000 on hand at the end of the last reporting period while Hatfield had $195.

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com