Hatch raised $455,507 and spent about $306,000 in the first quarter, leaving him with a war chest of about $2.28 million, according to campaign reports filed over the weekend.
Democrat Pete Ashdown, who is vying to oust the Republican Hatch from his seat of nearly 30 years, raised a pittance compared with Hatch's big numbers, bringing in $21,387 this past quarter and spending $4,500, according to his filing. That leaves Ashdown with nearly $19,000 cash on hand.
"I knew from the start that Hatch was going to be way ahead of me as far as money he's raised," Ashdown said Monday when asked about his campaign chest. "Hatch's campaign probably spends that much [the $19,000 Ashdown has] in a week."
Hatch's campaign manager, Dave Hansen, says the camp is where it planned to be in fundraising.
"We'd rather have more money than we need as we go into it," Hansen said, noting the campaign will continue to raise funds. As for Ashdown's account, Hansen said there is still a question as to how much Ashdown, a wealthy businessman, will donate to his own campaign.
Hatch, by the way, is paying Hansen $10,000 a month, according to the report, and the senator also gave $4,200 to Sen. Rick Santorum, a Pennsylvania Republican facing an uphill re-election battle.
In other races, Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson leads the House members and candidates in fundraising, bringing in $172,837 in the past quarter and spending $38,855. His campaign chest now rings in at $781,762, far more than Republican challenger LaVar Christensen's $168,843.
Christensen's funds, however, mainly came from a $150,000 personal loan he made to himself. Reports for two other Republican challengers had not been filed or were unavailable on Monday.
Republican Rep. Chris Cannon, meanwhile, had the least of his incumbent House colleagues from Utah, with about $46,000 in his account. He had raised $100,479 in the past quarter but spent $152,711, causing him to dip into previous funds raised.
Cannon, running for a sixth term in the 3rd District, also reported giving back $2,000 to former superlobbyist Jack Abramoff, who has pleaded guilty to fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials in a widening congressional corruption scandal. Abramoff also has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison for fraud in a Florida financial deal.
One of Cannon's Republican challengers, John Jacob, tossed in $126,000 of his own money, and received one contribution of $500 in the past quarter, but he spent nearly all of it and had about $6,700 cash on hand, according to his report. Former Congressman Merrill Cook, also running for the GOP nomination, raised $16,955, spent $1,691 and is left with $15,263.
In the 1st Congressional District, Republican Rep. Rob Bishop reported $63,397 on hand after raising $43,437 in the past quarter and spending $20,508. None of the 32 donations listed by name came from Utah.
Bishop's Democratic opponent, Steve Olsen, had not yet filed or his report was not available.
Also, SnowPAC, a political action committee run by Sen. Bob Bennett, a Utah Republican, gave $10,000 to Conrad Burns, a Montana Republican under scrutiny in the Abramoff scandal.
tburr@sltrib.com
A complete list of donors is available at http://www.fec.gov/disclosure.shtml
