Mia Love doubles Jim Matheson in 3rd quarter fundraising

SALT LAKE CITY — Capitalizing on her speech at the Republican National Convention and Utah campaign events featuring GOP stars, Mia Love raised more than twice as much money in the past quarter as Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson.

Love raked in slightly more than $1 million from July through September, according to her latest financial disclosure report filed Monday with the Federal Election Commission. The Saratoga Springs mayor has raised $1.4 million since jumping into the 4th Congressional District race. She had about $455,000 in the bank as of Sept. 30.

Love listed 13,000 individual contributions, averaging about $70 per donation.

“Each individual contribution means we're one step closer to changing the way Washington works,” Love said. “It is all part of a national message that we must correct our current course in order to keep America's promise alive and well for future generations.”

Matheson raised $470,836 in the third quarter, according his campaign, and still holds an overall dollar advantage. Dating back to his 2010 election, the six-term congressman has taken in $2 million. He had $306,652 on hand at the end of September.

The two candidates raised about the same amount during the second quarter of 2012, but Matheson still held a $1 million edge going into the third quarter.

"It's an impressive amount to raise, no question," Matheson said of Love's third quarter haul. "But overall, I'd rather have my financial position than hers."

Matheson said he has already made his TV ad buy for the last two weeks before Election Day, and still has cash in the bank. The Love campaign has not made its final buy but said it will soon.

Love made a splash at the GOP convention in August with a crowd-pleasing speech. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Sen. John McCain and House Speaker John Boehner are among Republican heavyweights who traveled to Utah for Love fundraisers.

But where Matheson and Love stand with 4th District voters depends on the poll.

Two Democratic organizations — House Majority PAC and Center Forward PAC — released a poll Monday showing Matheson with a 48 percent to 41 percent lead among likely 4th District voters. Love's poll by Public Opinion Strategies early last month had her up 51-36. Both Matheson and Love have discounted each other's numbers.

A Deseret News/KSL survey in late September gave Love a 49-43 edge.

The Matheson-Love matchup is among the most closely watched in the country. Political action committees have fueled a $3.5 million — and counting — ad war between the campaigns.

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