In the 2004 campaign, Bennett was well-outfitted with $2.4 million, according to federal campaign disclosure forms filed this month. The incumbent Republican spent all but about $600,000 to defeat former Democratic Utah Attorney General Paul Van Dam.
But now that the senator has won a third term by 40 points after campaigning just one month and spending $200,000 on an advertising package that consisted of a series of billboards, some wonder if Bennett's campaign strategy is overkill.
"Where is $1.8 million going for a race that was basically decided on day one?" asked Tony Musci of Common Cause. "He's not likely spending $1.8 million to get re-elected. He could spend half that amount and get re-elected."
Bennett consultant Greg Hopkins says the senator learned a lesson watching his father beat an entrenched incumbent in 1950: He is determined not to be taken by surprise or caught without enough money to respond to last-minute attacks.
"His philosophy has been: It's better to be safe than sorry. We run flat-out, as hard as we can, regardless of who we think our opponent's going to be," Hopkins said. "We view it in terms of what we need to raise and spend to get the job done."
In the end, Van Dam spent just $120,000 in his futile attempt to unseat the senator.
Throughout the campaign, Bennett led in the polls by more than 40 points. He faced no in-party challenges at the State Republican Convention or in the Republican primary.
The 2004 race follows a pattern of spending Bennett set in his first campaign 12 years ago. In the most expensive Utah political campaign ever, Bennett spent $3.8 million in 1992 to defeat Utah Republican Party Chairman Joe Cannon - who spent $6 million of his Geneva Steel fortune - and former congressman Wayne Owens to win his first term. In 1998, Bennett crushed Democrat Scott Leckman by an even greater margin, spending $2.9 million to Leckman's $266,000, and winning 64 percent of the vote.
At an October campaign debate, Bennett said he needed to be prepared for negative ads or mailings from out-of-state special interests like labor unions and billionaire financier George Soros. "I've raised enough to prepare myself for just about any contingency that might come along," he said.
Van Dam still is surprised by the amount of money the incumbent Republican spent.
"It's pretty amazing, considering what he did and didn't do," Van Dam said. "It is stunning to think you can raise and spend that kind of money in a race when your chances of losing are nearly nil."
Hopkins figures half the money was spent this year and the other half in the previous five years. About 40 percent of Bennett's campaign cash paid for personnel and consultants. Another 30 percent to 40 percent was dedicated to fund-raisers - paying for food and entertainment, he said. Nearly 10 percent went for campaign-related travel by the senator and his staff.
From Oct. 13 to Nov. 22, the single-biggest expense was a $45,000 payment to the Salt Lake City-based Potomac Group, where Hopkins works, for consulting. Bennett's campaign paid another $12,000 in payroll taxes.
Mapleton retiree Collin Allan, who gave Bennett $2,000 early in the campaign, said he would do it again.
"Looking at it in hindsight, it's easy" to second-guess, Allan said. "But at the front end, you don't know how it's going to be. That's water under the bridge now."
