The two main groups that ran the anti-Cannon ads were nonprofit entities that didn't have to disclose their finances, the Deseret Morning News reported last year. However, Cannon campaign aides estimated that around $80,000 in immigration advertising was spent against Cannon by primary election day.

Cannon's fund raising this year has actually been better than his election commission reports might appear at first glance, Hunter said, noting the representative "paid off quite a bit of debt" from earlier campaigns. Cannon's report shows he paid more than $20,000 in legal fees and spent $11,000 on campaign supplies.

"We raised around $635,000 last year" — first during the fight against the anti-immigration campaign and two GOP challengers, then against Democrat Beau Babka in the final election, Hunter said. "We said we'd spend what it took" to win. That left some campaign debts that Cannon wanted to get out from under before really setting up his 2006 re-election campaign.

"We are in better shape (financially) this election cycle; we've been very aggressive about raising money," Hunter said. Like other campaigns, he added, most of the off-year cash has been raised in Washington, D.C., from political action committees and other traditional incumbent givers.

Before long, Cannon will be asking Utahns for cash for 2006, he said. "We always anticipate that we'll have a (Republican) challenger. We'd prefer not to, but we'll prepare on the expectations that there will be."

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E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com