Matheson looking flush in re-election fund raising

WASHINGTON — Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, has raised more than $900,000 in his bid to retain Utah's 2nd District seat, giving him the biggest war chest so far of the state's U.S. House races for this year's election.

Deseret Morning News graphic Federal Election Commission filings Requires Adobe Acrobat.

All House candidates with more than $5,000 in contributions had to file reports with the Federal Elections Commission by midnight Saturday, listing contributions received and expenditures made during the first quarter of 2006.

Matheson received $172,837 in the first quarter, putting his contributions for this election at $924,201.91. He has $781,762 cash on hand, according to his report.

The largest contributor to Matheson's campaign was the Pricewaterhouse Coopers political action committee, which donated $5,000 this period. He also received substantial support from PACs established by banks and bank employees, investment firms, unions and energy companies.

"I am pleased that a variety of support from across the political spectrum are responding to my candidacy," Matheson said in a statement. "With this strong level of support, I will once again be able to aggressively get out my message during the coming months."

Matheson's challenger state Rep. LaVar Christensen, a Republican, raised $9,450 since Jan. 1 and has received $35,750 in contributions for this election, according to his report. He has $168,843 cash on hand. Christensen has lent his campaign more than $150,000 so far and has $161,056 in total campaign debt.

All of his donations came from three south Salt Lake County residents: $5,000 from attorney William Rawlings and $2,100 each from Jed Bindrup, a plastic surgeon, and his wife, Ann. He received no money from PACs.

The five other challengers listed with the Utah Elections Office did not have reports filed with the FEC. Constitution Party candidate W. David Perry said he has not reached the $5,000 threshold yet, nor has Libertarian candidate Austin Sherwood Lett. Calls to the other candidates were not returned.

Rep. Chris Cannon , R-Utah, running for a sixth term representing the state's 3rd Congressional District has raised more than $100,000 this past quarter, bringing his election's total to $428,811. He has $46,040 cash on hand.

Cannon's biggest donor this period was the National Restaurant Association PAC, which donated a total of $5,500. He also received substantial donations from technology companies, utilities and Realtor PACs.