Republican Burgess Owens leads the fundraising race heading into the June primary election, while his opponents are lagging behind.
Owens raised just under $300,000 between the state convention and mid-June according to the latest Federal Election Commission disclosure filings. His campaign spent $276,464 in that period, leaving him just over $111,000 in the bank.
State Rep. Kim Coleman, who won the delegate vote at the April Republican State Convention tallied $178,000 in donations and spent $208,801. She has $84,442 remaining in her campaign account.
Former radio talk show host Jay McFarland raised just under $30,000 and spent $51,213. He jas just $5,275 on hand. He also has $155,000 in unpaid campaign debt.
Businessman Trent Christensen only raised $10,000 and spent $12,500. He has just $2,405 in campaign cash and $112,727 in debt. He loaned his campaign more than $64,000 in the most recent reporting period.
The cash drought for the candidates is probably why traditional advertising has been almost nonexistent during the primary contest. Owens and Coleman have launched modest advertising campaigns on TV and cable.
Owens’ campaign is spending just under $50,000 on their ad buy. According to figures provided to UtahPolicy.com by Advertising Analytics, Owens is spending $32,900 on broadcast television with the remainder going toward cable.
Coleman’s advertising buy is more modest. She’s spending a little more than $15,000 for nine days worth of ads, mostly airing on Fox News Channel.
Christensen tells UtahPolicy.com he eschewed traditional television advertising in favor of a billboard campaign, while McFarland has spent modestly on digital advertising.
The candidate that emerges victorious in the June primary will have to raise campaign cash, and quick. Democrat Ben McAdams is currently sitting on more than $2.2 million in his campaign war chest.
