Utahns contributed about $1.2 million of the $14 million Romney raised during the past three months, the campaign reported Friday, making the state again his second-highest yielding for the 2008 race.

Romney has twice visited the state this year to collect cash. He raised $2.7 million from residents during the first three months of the year.

Observers say Romney, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, benefits from his connection to fellow Mormons, his leadership of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and even by owning a vacation home in Deer Valley.

Utah may still be a flyover state in the general election, says Quin Monson, assistant director of the Brigham Young University Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, but for now, it's a popular destination.

"What's changed is that we have a candidate who has a lot of friends and friends with friends in Utah," Monson says. "It shouldn't surprise anyone that he's taking advantage of it."

Romney reported Friday that this year he raised a total of $44.4 million for the Republican primary contest. The top state for Romney donors was California, which has about 15 times the number of residents as the Beehive State. He pulled in about $2.3 million from California this quarter.

Other presidential candidates have also culled money from Utah residents, too, though not nearly as much as Romney, reports show.

"And he'll be back for more," Monson says.

Romney's campaign says the financial backing from Utah is a natural reflection of his demonstrated skills in the Olympics.

"The folks of the great state of Utah know firsthand about Governor Romney's strong leadership, having worked alongside many of them to make sure the 2002 Olympics were a tremendous success," said spokesman Kevin Madden.

Romney, who is wealthy from his days running a venture capital firm, donated $6.5 million this quarter to his campaign, in addition to the $2.35 million he gave himself in the first quarter.

The campaign has plowed through $20.7 million of Romney's total haul this quarter, spending about $4 million in television commercials in early primary states to introduce himself to voters. Recent polls have shown that effort paying off, with Romney leading in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states of the primary contest.

Most 2008 candidates had not filed their second-quarter reports with the Federal Elections Commission as of Friday. The deadline for the reports is Sunday at midnight.

tburr@sltrib.com