Incumbent Rep. Mia Love, R-Saratoga Springs, and Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, her Democratic challenger, are bringing in record cash as they head into an increasingly competitive election this November.
Love raised a total of $1 million this quarter, according to her latest campaign fundraising report. McAdams, over the same period, raised $620,000.
Overall, Love has raised nearly double the amount of money this election cycle than McAdams while outspending him six-fold, Federal Election Commission records show. To date, Love has raised $3.3 million and spent $2.6 million.
Meanwhile, McAdams took in nearly $1.7 million overall and has spent only $428,000.
For the final stretch of the campaign, both McAdams and Love have roughly $1.2 million cash on hand, with McAdams holding a slight advantage.
Love is running for a third term in the congressional district — ranked as Utah’s most competitive. Polls show the candidates locked in a statistical dead heat, with Real Clear Politics rating the race as a “Toss Up.”
Besides being the state’s tightest contest, Utah’s 4th District has been one of the most expensive House races since its creation in 2010 redistricting. Before that, Utah only had three congressional districts.
Love has broken Utah fundraising records since she first ran for office in 2012. She lost that campaign to Democrat Jim Matheson but came back in 2014 to beat Democrat Doug Owens.
Love, the first black Republican woman elected to Congress, also outraised Utah’s three other Republican incumbents this cycle.
Federal Election Commission data show Love received a majority of donations from out of state contributors.
In dueling press releases, Love and McAdams lobbed barbs at each other reflecting the increasingly high-stakes nature of the race.
“Between Ben’s recent gaffes with the massive high-density Olympia Hills development near the Herriman area, his extensive employment history with Hillary and Bill Clinton, his wishy-washy rhetoric regarding abortion and the fact that he doesn’t even live in the 4th district, voters are realizing Ben just isn’t someone they can trust,” Love said in the statement.
McAdams lives in the 2nd Congressional District, though residency within a district’s boundaries is not a federal requirement for a candidate to run for public office in Utah.
In his own release, McAdams swung back, noting the large number of donations he received from in-state donors and pointing to Love’s fiscal voting record.
“During her time in Congress, Rep. Love has blown the federal deficit up into the stratosphere — and her campaign report shows she’s can’t seem to stop spending no matter where she goes,” McAdams said. "She spends it nearly as fast as she raises it, which shows her true lack of fiscal conservatism.”
