Democratic congressional candidate Kathryn Allen raised a shocking $564,091 for her campaign against Rep. Jason Chaffetz next year. That incredible number is more than double what every other general election candidate Chaffetz has ever faced raised since 2008.
UtahPolicy.com looked at the fundraising totals for every opponent, both Democratic and third-party, Chaffetz has faced since 2008 during his first run for Congress. Those seven candidates raised an aggregate total of $244,298 during those five election cycles. That’s less than half the fundraising total Allen posted last week.
| Candidate | Year | Fundraising total |
| Stephen Tryon (D) | 2016 | $55,063 |
| Stephen Tryon (Independent) | 2014 | $72,375 |
| Brian Wonnacott (D) | 2014 | $9,949 |
| Soren Simonsen (D) | 2012 | $30,602 |
| Karen Hyer (D) | 2010 | $23,818 |
| Douglas Sligting | 2010 | $3,356 |
| Bennion Spencer (D) | 2008 | $42,886 |
| Jim Noorlander | 2008 | $6,249 |
| Total | $244,298 |
Stephen Tryon ran against Chaffetz twice, in 2014 as an independent and in 2016 as a Democrat.
While money is the lifeblood of politics, it doesn’t guarantee success. The highest fundraising total for a Democratic challenger since 2000 was Jim Matheson that year when he first ran for Congress. He raised $1.9 million for his successful campaign against Derek Smith.
Every other Democrat who raised big bucks since that year lost their races, and most of them lost by at least 10 points.
- Donald Dunn raised $336,523 in 2000 for his 3rd District challenge to Rep. Chris Cannon. Cannon won by 21-points.
- In 2002, Democrat Dave Thomas pulled in $704,616 to take on Rep. Rob Bishop. Bishop won by 24 points.
- Pete Ashdown raised $256,010 against Sen. Orrin Hatch in 2006. Ashdown lost by 31 points.
- Sam Granato pulled in $291,522 when he challenged Mike Lee in 2010. Lee won by 29 points.
- Scott Howell raised $421,086 in 2012 to challenge Sen. Orrin Hatch. Hatch ended up winning by 35 points.
- Donna McAleer had $231,493 in the bank when she challenged Rep. Rob Bishop for the first time. Bishop prevailed by 47 points.
- McAleer had $266,277 for her second campaign against Bishop in 2014. Bishop again won by 35 points.
- Doug Owens had $866,595 for his first campaign against Mia Love in 2014. Love eked out a win by 3 points.
- In 2016, Owens had more than $2 million for his rematch against Love. Love again won by 12 points.
- Charlene Albarran had $586,978 for her race against Rep. Chris Stewart in 2016 (but most of that was her own money). Stewart won by 28 points.
In the past nine election cycles, the only times a Democratic candidate with significant campaign money totals ended up winning or coming close was in a race for an open seat – Matheson in 2000 and Owens in 2014.
