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Huge checks and deep pockets are fueling the battle for the Republican nomination for Utah governor, with Gov. Gary Herbert bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars from familiar sources and his challenger, Jonathan Johnson, drawing on associates from Overstock.com and his own wallet.

All told, the clash of GOP rivals has the potential to be a big money war, with Herbert having raked in nearly $1.3 million in 2015. Combined with more than $1.1 million already in his campaign account — minus what was spent in the course of the year — the governor's campaign entered the 2016 election year with $1.4 million in the bank.

Among the governor's expenditures is a $50,000 payment for political consulting to Lincoln Strategy Group, an Arizona-based firm that specializes in signature gathering — a strong indication that Herbert plans to avail himself of the petition route to the GOP primary ballot, although his campaign has not said definitively it would do so.

"We're not prepared to release the details of what our strategy will be, as far as that goes … but we're making preparations for whatever the governor's decision ultimately is," said campaign manager Marty Carpenter. Whatever the decision is regarding signature gathering, the governor will definitely try to secure the party's nomination at the GOP convention, he said.

Johnson has said he will not collect signatures and will only go to the party's convention.

Overstock chairman Johnson, meanwhile, has shown a willingness to pay for a large chunk of his own bid for governor. Along with his wife, Courtney Johnson, he has put more than $132,000 of personal money into the race so far, through his campaign account and his political action committee.

Between his campaign account and his PAC, Johnson has raised more than $456,000 and spent more than $414,000, leaving him with about $42,000 entering 2016.

Prominent in his contributions is a $179,800 donation of voter database services from Silver Bullet, a political consulting firm co-founded by Chuck Warren, which has worked with Overstock and Johnson in the past.

Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com, gave $125,000 to Johnson's PAC; Thomas Adkins, a New York-based attorney who has worked with Overstock, gave $25,000; and Stevan Hopkins, who served with Johnson on an LDS mission, gave $20,000.

"The report speaks for itself," said Sasha Clark, a spokeswoman for the Johnson campaign. "Jonathan and others have donated to the campaign, as they strongly believe Jonathan can lead the state in a better direction."

Herbert also drew heavily on wealthy donors, and many have been generous to the governor in the past. Of the $1.3 million raised last year, more than $850,000 came from fewer than 50 donors who gave more than $10,000 each.

Carpenter said, as the election gets closer, the donor base would diversify.

"The governor obviously has a strong base of support that helps fund his campaign activities, but we also just now are starting the process of engaging the governor's broader base of support," Carpenter said. We haven't really targeted, in a nonelection year, small-dollar donations that we generally would find more typical to come in during an election year."