GOP rakes in majority of Utah donations

Federal candidates and causes that seek money in Utah are much luckier if they are Republicans. Utahns gave GOP groups $4.29 for every $1 they donated to Democrats so far in this two-year election cycle.

Better yet, candidates should hope their name is Mitt Romney.

The former Salt Lake Olympic boss took 55 cents of every $1 that Utahns spread among more than 400 federal candidates, party groups and political action committees. While others saw only a trickle of money from Utah, Romney enjoyed the equivalent of a gushing fire hydrant.

That's according to a Deseret News analysis of campaign disclosure forms filed this month by federal candidates and groups. The analysis also shows who the biggest donors are among individuals, local ZIP codes and groups of employees by company.

Utahns giving more money to federal GOP candidates than to Democratic candidates "will always be the case here as long as the party affiliation is so skewed to Republicans and as long as our major officeholders are mostly Republicans," said Kelly Patterson, a Brigham Young University political science professor who has studied Utah campaigns.

"Incumbents can raise more money than challengers," he adds. "Those two factors — party loyalty and Republican incumbents — feed off each other, they reinforce each other" in the race for campaign cash.

Of every dollar that Utahns gave to federal races and groups, 73 cents went to Republicans; 17 cents went to Democrats; almost 10 cents went to political action committees (formed by special interests or industries which may give to either party); and the Libertarian and Constitution parties had less than a twentieth of a penny each.

For the record, Utahns donated $9.98 million to federal races and causes from the 2006 election through the end of March. Republicans took $7.3 million; Democrats received $1.7 million; PACs took $973,667; the Libertarian Party took $2,500; and the Constitution Party had $1,925.

Except perhaps for Romney, Utahns do not have a culture of giving to political candidates, says Todd Taylor, executive director of the Utah Democratic Party. It is not just hard for Democratic candidates and the Democratic Party to raise money here, either. Republicans have their financial problems, too, said Taylor, who has worked in politics since the 1980s.