Hatch, Matheson still flush after campaigns

U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch and Rep. Jim Matheson are flush with cash after they coasted to healthy victories in last month's elections, new federal campaign finance reports show.

And all told, Utah's candidates for federal office spent $8.28 million in their campaigns — with the expensive elections returning the same men to office for additional terms.

Hatch, R-Utah, has more than $2.5 million in his campaign account, new Federal Election Commission reports show.

Matheson, D-Utah, has more than $316,000.

Those post-election cash balances may serve several purposes — but mainly they will bring pause to any would-be challenger.

Hatch won't face re-election until 2012. And since he raised more than $6 million over the past six years, he no doubt will have millions more should he seek a seventh term in office.

Matheson will face challengers in 2008, if not sooner should Congress award Utah a fourth U.S. House seat and require early elections. Should Matheson have to face voters in a redrawn district in 2007, he already has a good financial head start.

The $316,000 in cash is the most he's ever had right after an election, Matheson said Friday. But he says he didn't plan to have that much left over. "We had a campaign plan — how to pay for it — and we just raised more than we thought we would."

Matheson said he didn't work extra hard to have money left over should he have to run a special election in 2007. "That had nothing to do with it. If we hadn't raised as much as we did and spent it all (to follow the campaign plan), so be it."

The latest filings clearly show two things: Incumbents can raise a lot more money than their out-of-office challengers, and did. And any challenger who wants to come even close to an incumbent's spending will have to donate their own cash to their campaigns.

Over the past six years, Hatch spent $3.77 million out of his campaign account. His Democratic challenger, Pete Ashdown, spent only $45,000 trying to unseat the longtime senator this year.

Matheson spent $1.64 million in his 2006 re-election, as he ended up beating his GOP challenger with his largest ever re-election win.

Matheson's opponent, state Rep. LaVar Christensen, R-Draper, spent nearly $800,000. A millionaire, Christensen ended up lending his campaign $540,000, the new reports show.

Rep. Chris Cannon , R-Utah, faced a tough challenge from Republican millionaire John Jacob in the 3rd Congressional District GOP June primary. Cannon won (Jacob spending $530,000) and coasted into an easy win over Democrat Christian Burridge in November. Burridge spent only $7,000. For his whole race, Cannon spent $1.16 million, a record re-election total for him.