Republican Burgess Owens raised more money than Rep. Ben McAdams, but McAdams has more left to spend for the stretch run, according to the final campaign finance disclosures ahead of the November election.
Owens also outspent McAdams, D-Utah, by more than 2-1 in the first two weeks of October, in Utah’s 4th District contest, which handicappers say is a toss up going into Election Day.
Owens reported raising $456,309 to McAdams' $314,058 from Oct. 1-14. But, McAdams has $410,850 remaining while Owens has $325,709.
Owens pulled in more than $65,000 from PACs and other Republican candidate committees, while McAdams reported a similar amount from those funding sources.
Owens has been ramping up his campaign spending since bringing in a massive $2.5 million during the third quarter fundraising period. His campaign spent $1.16 million in just two weeks, the vast majority of that, nearly $864,000, toward advertising.
McAdams also spent most of his money on advertising, with nearly $468,000 of the $540,000 going to the airwaves to make his case to voters.
The two candidates have combined to raise a total of $8.94 million so far. That eye-popping amount is still a bit behind the $9.1 million raised by McAdams and Republican Rep. Mia Love two years ago. This race should surpass that total when the final tallies are released after the election.
Outside groups, often run by political party leaders, have poured even more money into the race. Tracking from the Center for Responsive Politics show these outside groups have dumped more than $10.2 million into the district, with 4.41 million going to attack Owens and $3.5 million spent opposing McAdams. So far, outside groups have spent 3.5 times more in Utah’s 4th District than they did just two years ago.
The other three congressional races in Utah are seeing a much more modest flow of cash during the final phase of the election. In each of those races, the Republican is the heavy favorite.
First District Republican Blake Moore reported the highest amount raised among the remaining candidates, at $38,486. Moore, whois running to replace the retiring Rep. Rob Bishop, has $105,000 in cash on hand, but his campaign owes more than $280,000 mostly in loans he made to himself. Moore’s opponent, Democrat Darren Parry, pulled in just $3,800, leaving him $6,300 in the bank.
In Utah’s 2nd District, Rep. Chris Stewart raised nearly $27,000 during the reporting period, leaving him $192,000 in the bank. His Democratic challenger, Kael Weston, raised $22,000, bringing his overall total to a respectable $303,000 for the cycle. But, the power of incumbency and a Republican leaning district really aided Stewart who reports more than $886,000 in donations during the 2020 election.
The same dynamic is at play in the 3rd District. Democrat Devin Thorpe has raised $179,000 overall, including $14,600 in this filing period. But, that total has been dwarfed by the $830,000 raised by Rep. John Curtis.
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