Look who's funding Utah races

It's not hard to see who really likes each of Utah's congressional candidates — just look at who gives them the most money.

For example, Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, receives about $1 of every $5 he raises from the health-care industry. He is on a subcommittee overseeing that industry. Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, receives $1 of every $10 raised from EnergySolutions, and about the same from defense contractor Engineering and Software Systems Solutions (ES3).

Meanwhile, nonincumbents' best friends tend to be, well, themselves.

For example, Republican Bill Dew (Matheson's challenger) provided $9 of every $10 raised out of his own pocket, loaning his campaign $570,000.

Democrat Morgan Bowen (Bishop's opponent) is also his own biggest donor, as is Jason Chaffetz (the Republican who beat Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, in the GOP primary.) And Chaffetz's Democratic opponent, Bennion Spencer, is his own second-largest donor (beaten out only by one labor union).

Big donors can be controversial, as they have been this year in the race between Bishop and Bowen. Bowen charged that Bishop did favors for money for both big-donor ES3 (by helping it get an earmark worth millions) and EnergySolutions (by steering clear of a bill that would prevent that company from importing radioactive waste from Italy to Utah).

Bishop said other congressmen actually obtained the earmark for ES3 and said he refused to join the bill against EnergySolutions because he doesn't want Washington telling states what waste imports they may allow. He has long said donors give to him because they like his work and views and not in exchange for any favors.

Bishop said, "Skeptics may not believe it, but you can actually divorce fundraising from policy, and you have to, because at the end of the day you have to do what you feel is right and live with your own conscience." So what do donors get for their money? Bishop said, "They get a little gratitude and someone who will fight for good government."

Following is a candidate-by-candidate look at the biggest donors to Utah's congressional candidates:

Matheson: Deseret News analysis shows he received 19 percent of his money (nearly $328,000) from the health-care industry. He deals with health care, in part, through his work on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and sits on its Health Subcommittee.