The cost of admissions to run for county clerk in Utah, and to potentially lead future elections in the state, isn’t much more than the average paycheck or two.
According to county records, clerk candidates outside of Salt Lake County launched their campaigns with less than a couple thousand dollars.
County clerk races in Utah’s midterm elections this fall are mostly uncontested. Only six of Utah’s 29 counties — with Daggett county’s clerk seat not open this year — have multiple candidates vying for the top elections official position.
And, according to available campaign filings, these races are much more affordable than the tens of thousands of dollars it can cost to run for the Legislature or the millions to compete for an open U.S. Senate seat.
While the Salt Lake County clerk’s race has brought in around $170,000 in campaign donations between the two candidates, most clerks’ races in Utah cost candidates a fraction of that sum. In Utah and Washington counties, for example, clerk candidates had only raised a few thousand dollars earlier this year.
Like other elected officials in Utah, clerk candidates must file campaign finance records in accordance with county and state guidelines. Counties also have the ability to enact stricter finance laws for local seats. State law requires candidates to file a report with each donation and expenditure seven days before an election, meaning candidates on the ballot Nov. 8 are supposed to file reports by Nov. 1.
[Read more: Does your county have a 2020 election denier running for county clerk?]
Some places, like Utah County, do not require candidates to file finance reports in primaries if their race is uncontested, although candidates are still required to file reports in the general election.
Here’s what the most recently available campaign finance reports say about competitive clerk races around the state:
Salt Lake County
Unsurprisingly, Utah’s most expensive county clerk race this year is in the state’s most populous county. Democratic nominee Lannie Chapman and Republican Goud Maragani are vying to replace retiring Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen.
In addition to state laws, Salt Lake County’s municipal code requires candidates to file a finance report on Sep. 15, which gives the most recent details on their contributions and spending.
Chapman’s campaign has topped six figures, having raised over $120,000 during the election cycle, according to the most recent filing.
Current and former elected officials from around the Salt Lake Valley can be found on Chapman’s donors list, including the outgoing clerk Swensen, who donated $1,000 to Chapman on April 1, and Utah House Minority Leader Brian King, who donated $500 in May. Both are listed as endorsing Chapman on her campaign website.
Several other high-profile Salt Lake County Democrats have also donated to Chapman’s run from their own campaign coffers.
Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson’s campaign donated $3,000 in March to Chapman, and another $250 in May. City Mayor Erin Mendenhall’s campaign donated $500 in May and $1,500 in June. Campaigns for both Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill and county council member Arlyn Bradshaw each donated $1,000 in April and May, respectively.
Chapman has spent over $2,000 of her own money on the campaign.
As of the September filing, Maragani had received around $55,000 during this election cycle, according to the latest filing.
Around $9,200 of that was donated following the June primaries, with $5,000 coming from the Salt Lake County Republican Party, the largest donation made in the latest finance report. The same report indicates the political organization supporting Utah GOP state Sen. Dan McCay donated $250 to Maragani’s campaign.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) A sign advocating for Republican Goud Maragani, who is running to replace longtime Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen, Oct. 19, 2022.
Maragani, who has said Democrats cheated and stole the 2020 election, has self-funded a large portion of his campaign. An April finance report shows he kicked off his candidacy by spending over $15,000 of his own money in January and March. He added another $10,000 in June, according to a filing submitted ahead of the primaries.
The latest campaign filing indicates Maragani had over $18,000 remaining in his campaign account.
Utah County
The state’s second-most populous county appears to have much less money going into its county clerk race, but the latest spending numbers aren’t yet available.
Two candidates – Republican candidate Aaron Davidson and Independent American candidate Jake Oaks – are running to replace outgoing Utah County Clerk Josh Daniels.
The most recently available filings for each candidate are from their conventions, which were filed back in early April. Neither faced an opponent in their respective primaries, so they were not required to file a financial report, according to Utah County’s ordinance on elections. Both are expected to file campaign reports on Nov. 1.
Davidson, who recently said the county shouldn’t be spending tax dollars on monkeypox vaccine because it would benefit gay men, raised a total of $1,687 as of April 1, with $762 of that total coming from his own money.
Oaks, who has said if he’s elected he will not issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples, had been the sole funding source for his campaign as of the April report. He loaned the campaign $283 in April, the report shows, which was spent by the campaign that month.
Candace Jacobson has also filed as a write-in candidate for the Utah County clerk race.
Washington County
Washington County’s incumbent clerk Susan Lewis, who is the only candidate on the ballot, has also self-funded her campaign, according to a financial statement from just before the June primary, which is the only filing available.
From December through March, Lewis gave $1,788 to her campaign, spending $1,659 of that money in the same reporting period.
Lewis’ only opponent is write-in candidate Patricia Kent, who has claimed without evidence that President Joe Biden did not win the 2020 election. Kent filed her write-in candidacy after the June primaries, meaning she did not have to submit a financial statement.
Both Lewis and Kent are expected to submit financial statements on Nov. 1.
Other county races
In Summit County, incumbent clerk Evelyn Furse did not have a primary opponent, so she was not required to submit a financial statement. Write-in candidate Dawn Mathiesen Langston has also not filed a campaign finance report.
The two candidates running for San Juan County Clerk – incumbent Republican Lyman Duncan and Democrat Garrett Thomas Holly – have also not submitted financial statements because each ran unopposed in their primaries.
The two write-in candidates running for Wayne County’s clerk/auditor job — Adrian Ruger and Felicia Snow — also have not filed financial statements, as they were not required to under the county’s code because they did not run in a primary.
The candidates are expected to file reports on Nov. 1.
