Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker has a 24-1 cash advantage over challenger Jackie Biskupski. His lead over Luke Garrott is even larger.
The latest annual fundraising reports for the three declared candidates in the race shows Becker with $314,961 cash on hand compared to Biskupski’s $12,915. Garrott has just $5,098 in his war chest.
Becker pulled in nearly $243,000 in contributions over the last year while spending $128,115.
Becker’s biggest expenditure was $47,000 to the FM3 polling firm for two public opinion polls in the last year.
Biskupski got into the race late, but still raised $25,700 while spending $12,784. That $25,000 donation figure is a bit misleading because nearly â…“ of that total ($7,475) came in the form of an in-kind donation from Reagan Outdoor Advertising.
Garrott raised $7,591 during the period while spending $2,493.
Becker's eye-popping lead is not surprising given the advantages of incumbency. He's been able to raise and spend money for his campaign simply because he's the current office holder.
It remains to be seen if Biskupski and Garrott can step their game up enough to compete with what looks like a Becker money tsunami.
