Demos raise cash in GOP heartland

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Several Democratic legislative candidates in Utah County are outraising their incumbent Republican opponents for the first time in recent history.

Of the 12 races in Utah County for House and Senate seats, six Democrats have collected more than Republican incumbents and one is within a few hundred dollars.

"This is a sign of major disenchantment with the status quo," said Richard Davis, Utah County Democratic Party chairman. "Putting up money to support these challengers really shows people are willing to support who they believe in."

He can't recall a time when Democrats had such a strong start, but he knows there are several months to go before the Nov. 4 election.

"Even where there is a difference between the two, there's not necessarily a stark difference," Davis said.

However, some Republican incumbents have raised significantly more. Sen. Curt Bramble has about $70,000 in the bank compared with less than $300 raised by Democratic challenger Fred Desposorio. Radene Hatfield, also a Democrat, has raised $1,050.

Bramble said most Utah County Republicans will begin fundraising in earnest now that their convention is over.

"I'm confident all Republican candidates will have adequately funded campaigns," Bramble said. "I'm glad to see the Democratic Party fielding a qualified set of candidates."

No Utah County Democrat has held an elected partisan office for more than a decade - since Sen. Eldon Money, of Spanish Fork, left the Legislature in 1996.

Davis is excited to see the field of Democrats outraising, and he's even more proud of the sources of funding.

About 150 donors, nearly all individuals, gave to Democratic legislative candidates. Only one-third of that number of donors gave to their Republican opponents, and most of them were corporations or special interest groups.

"The Democratic challengers are credible and viable," Davis said. "This is a real race, and these challengers are coming out of the block with a real strong start."

smcfarland@sltrib.com