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Posted: 8:34 PM- The million-dollar mayor's race seems as likely as ever.
With summer still on the horizon, and the election more than five months away, Keith Christensen is setting a blistering pace in the Salt Lake City mayoral cash contest, already amassing more than half a million dollars.
Christensen, who has led the fundraising charge all year, has piled up more than $508,000 - much of it from developers and other business owners - according to the latest round of campaign finance disclosures filed Friday.
Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson is in second place with just over $241,000 - less than half Christensen's total. But Wilson also has spent more than any other candidate, leaving her with just $89,000 in the bank.
City Councilman Dave Buhler runs third with $216,000, followed by House Minority Leader Ralph Becker, who has raised $176,000 but has spent relatively little.
City Councilwoman Nancy Saxton ($64,000), and surgeon J.P. Hughes ($37,000) trail the front-runners, while perennial candidate John Renteria reported that he has raised no money.
Election observers have predicted the cost to succeed two-term Mayor Rocky Anderson will eclipse $1 million. A primary election on Sept. 11 will whittle the field to two. The two highest vote-getters will square off in the nonpartisan contest in November.
Christensen, who compiled just over $200,000 in the first cycle, and nearly $300,000 in the second, seems well on his way to the seven-figure mark. The business owner and former city councilman has spent $144,000, leaving him with a commanding $363,000.
"The support is coming from Republicans, Democrats and Independents alike," Christensen said in a statement on Friday. It shows "that people of Salt Lake City are not interested in a partisan politician, but in a mayor who can share with them a vision for the entire city."
The bulk of Christensen's cash comes from big fish in the capital city's business community. Developers Kem Gardner and Dell Loy Hansen each kicked in at least $7,000, while Spencer Eccles contributed $7,500. Checks for $5,000 or higher also came from mortgage and real estate companies. And Stuart Reid, a former mayoral hopeful and Christensen ally, added $2,500 to the campaign.
Wilson's ledger includes a long list of donors who mostly have given less than $1,000. But there are a handful of private big spenders - Bruce Bastian, co-founder of WordPerfect, floated the campaign $6,500 - as well as small business and real estate money.
Early polls have shown Wilson holding a lead with Buhler in second place. Christensen, Becker and Saxton trail, according to the surveys, while Hughes and Renteria barely register with voters.
Buhler's big donors are spread evenly between businesses and individual supporters, while a few lobbyists make the former state senator's list.
Becker, who has seen the bulk of his financial support in the last month, has the most supporters by volume. The majority, however, are modest. Checks for less than $500, from fellow state lawmakers and Utah Transit Authority head John Inglish for instance, dot the list.
Meg Holbrook, the former Utah Democratic Party boss who ducked out of the race this spring, also filed a financial report that outlines refunds to her donors.
Saxton's report is unusual in that is lists a single contribution - for $100. That means nearly all of the candidate's $64,000 was raised prior to February 15.
Hughes raised more than $5,000 during the second reporting cycle, and has $25,000 on hand.
One explanation for Christensen's lead: the financial front-runner has not been satisfied to simply shake wallets in the capital city. Several weeks ago, he set up a fundraiser in Ogden.
"I did pretty well," he said, smiling.
He could say the same about Friday's reports.