What is that $3 million for, sitting in Hatch's bank accounts the day after his likely re-election?

Is it there to scare away possible challengers in 2012, when at 78, Hatch would be seeking to extend his total service to 42 years in the U.S. Senate?

"Actually, we started early (in fund raising) and raised as much as possible to discourage this year anyone getting in (to the U.S. Senate race) on Republican and Democratic side," says Hansen. The big bucks had "an effect, we believe, in keeping better funded and more credible opposition out."

But $3 million in cash is a good start to raising maybe $6 million or more for 2012. If Hatch were to have a credible GOP challenger then, he wouldn't find pre-primary fund raising as easy as he did this year.

Unfortunately for Hatch, GOP Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. will see the end of his second term in 2012, should he win re-election in 2008. Huntsman has already said he won't seek a third gubernatorial term and he could afford to drop $6 million or $8 million of his own money into a U.S. Senate GOP primary race.

Ashdown, a millionaire through his founding and ownership of XMission, Utah's first and largest home-grown Internet access firm, said when he jumped into the race that he wouldn't spend more than $500,000 of his own money.

The new FEC reports shows that Ashdown has given his campaign $38,015.28. That is 16 percent of the $227,246 he's raised so far.

"I find it reprehensible when rich people buy their way into office," Ashdown said. "I would not be one of those."

He said his $38,000 went to pay rent for his campaign headquarters, pay staff salaries, health-care benefits and taxes.

He did that in part to take care of his workers, but also to have enough campaign cash "to demonstrate, that even under the current (fund-raising) system, someone could have a crack at running for the U.S. Senate and not pour in (from his own funds) hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars."

---

E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com