House hopefuls reveal war chests

WASHINGTON — Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, has again lengthened his money lead over the three Republicans challenging him, enjoying more cash in the bank than the others have — combined.

Worse for that GOP trio, they must still spend their money to fight each other for their party's nomination before facing Matheson.

They can take some solace, however, because all are in (or near) being in the black financially. Most candidates in other districts are in the red — including incumbent Reps. Chris Cannon and Rob Bishop, both R-Utah, of the 3rd and 1st districts respectively.

That's according to new campaign disclosure forms filed in advance of next week's state party conventions. To avoid an in-party primary election, candidates must win 60 percent of delegate votes at those conventions on May 8.

New forms show that Matheson now has $794,907 in cash.

John Swallow, the GOP nominee two years ago, has $300,074. Tim Bridgewater, who lost a close primary to Swallow in 2002, is close behind with $273,958. Following distantly is Salt Lake County Councilman David Wilde with $4,385.

That seems to ensure Matheson will have a huge head start with money for the general election, no matter what happens at the GOP state convention next week. Of course, that lead will be larger if Republicans cannot avoid an expensive primary.

Of note, most of Bridgewater's money has come from his own pocket. He has loaned his campaign a total of $254,000. In contrast, Swallow has loaned his campaign $24,000, and has raised $661,854 from individuals.

Swallow has raised a total of $661,578 and spent $417,337. Bridgewater has raised $335,391 and spent $111,657. Wilde has raised $20,892 and spent $16,507. Wilde is the only 2nd District candidate technically a bit in the red, with $8,882 in debts compared to $4,385 in cash on hand ($7,800 of that debt is for loans he made).

Meanwhile, Matheson has raised $921,901 and spent $278,080. While it seems like he is not gambling with his fund raising, he reported two interesting recent donations — at least for Utah, where no form of gambling is legal: $1,000 came from the Station Casinos political action committee and $1,000 from the MGM Mirage PAC.

The 2nd District race is one of the nation's most closely watched because Matheson won two years ago with just 49.43 percent of the vote compared to Swallow's 48.69 percent. Republicans see it as one of their best chances to pick up a Democratic seat, while Democrats say retaining it is key to their hopes of winning control of the House.