Spencer, Chaffetz's Democratic opponent, reported raising $42,866 and spending $40,787. So Chaffetz outspent him by a 9-1 margin.

The final disclosure forms also reinforce the traditional view that special-interest groups donate almost all of their money to whomever is favored in a race.

For example, Matheson raised about $1.38 million from special-interest political action committees (PACs) in the two-year election cycle. Dew raised only $10,250 from them, meaning Matheson raised 134 times more.

Before Chaffetz beat Cannon in the primary, he had received only $16,500 from PACs (while Cannon had raised $570,000 from them). After Chaffetz upset Cannon and became the favorite, he raised nearly $150,000 from PACs while Spencer raised only $3,100 from them.

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E-mail: lee@desnews.com