In 2002 the NRCC "came in very late — like the last week — did one TV ad with (U.S. Sen.) Orrin Hatch and helped the state party with a mailer. This ($864,116) is significant," he added.

If current spending continues, more than $1 million may be spent by the national GOP here before Election Day.

That would be more money than Swallow's own campaign. Swallow has been fund-raising himself for more than a year and says he's set a record in cash-raising for a candidate challenging an incumbent in a Utah U.S. House race

In addition to the NRCC's efforts, the Utah Republican Party is also sending out pro-Swallow/anti-Matheson brochures.

Swallow said the fact that the DCCC has put in more than $350,000 so far "tells Utahns that they want Jim Matheson in (Congress) and pushing their agenda."

Swallow likes to remind Utah campaign watchers that the DCCC outspent the NRCC here in 2002. And with a little more help back then, he could be the incumbent today.

Political experts say Democrats have little hope of actually taking a dozen seats away from the Republicans in the Nov. 2 election and regain control of the U.S. House they lost in 1994.

But Utah's 2nd District is heavily Republican, and it's galled national Republicans since 2000 that it isn't in GOP hands.

Matheson's precarious political situation has not been lost on his House Democratic colleagues, dozens of whom have donated tens of thousands of dollars from their own campaign accounts to Matheson's campaign.

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E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com