Freshman Democrat Ben McAdams is amassing a huge campaign war chest ahead of his November re-election bid.
Campaign sources tell UtahPolicy.com that McAdams raised around $900,000 in the most recent fundraising quarter, and has nearly $1.8 million in the bank. That’s more than half of the $3.37 million McAdams spent on his 2018 race.
Those eye-popping numbers will put pressure on the five Republicans vying for the GOP nomination to face McAdams in November. Kathleen Anderson reported raising $172,000 in the 3rd quarter of 2019, but $130,000 of that total was a personal loan she made to her campaign.
State Sen. Daniel Hemmert demonstrated the most fundraising prowess, pulling in more than $400,000 (including $175,000 of his own money), but he recently ended his congressional bid.
State Rep. Kim Coleman raised $110,000, while former KSL radio host Jay McFarland pulled in just $47,000. Chris Biesinger reported $34,000 in donations while former NFL player Burgess Owens has not yet reported any fundraising numbers.
McAdams is facing a primary challenge from Daniel Beckstrand. If he survives that, he should have a sizeable war chest on hand once the general election race begins following the June primary election.
Full fundraising reports are due to the Federal Election Commission on January 15th.
