The next time you hear Congressman Burgess Owens complain about a biased “liberal media," consider this. The latest campaign financial disclosures show a hefty $25,000 donation from Chris Ruddy, the CEO of right-wing news organization Newsmax, landing in the Utah Republican's coffers.
The contribution, detailed in Federal Election Commission disclosures, flowed through Owens' joint fundraising committee, which distributes funds between his campaign, his "Dream Big" leadership PAC, and House Republicans' campaign apparatus.
Owens has the least money in the bank among the state’s congressional delegation, with just over $100,000. Of the $177,000 his campaign raised during the last three months, 85% came from individual donors, while political action committees contributed the remaining $22,000.
Some other details from the quarterly financial reports analyzed by Utah Political Watch:
Rep. Blake Moore's ascension to the House Republican Caucus leadership has him amass a formidable campaign war chest of more than $2 million – the largest among Utah's congressional contingent. His latest quarterly haul topped $500,000, with contributions from political action committees slightly edging out individual donors at 51% to 49% of the total donations.
Sen. Mike Lee reported $368,157 in contributions from individual donors—leading the Utah pack—while maintaining the second-largest cash reserve at $935,000. Political action committees funneled an additional $208,000 his way, with the lion's share—$185,000—streaming into his self-referential Lead, Encourage, Elect (LEE) leadership PAC.
Lee pulled in big-dollar donations from Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman ($10,500) and Palantir Technologies CTO Shyam Sankar ($7,000). Schwartzman also donated $12,000 to Lee’s joint fundraising committee that splits donations between Lee’s campaign, his leadership PAC, the Utah Republican Party, and the campaign arm for Senate Republicans.
Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz donated $10,000 to freshman Rep. Mike Kennedy’s “victory fund” that disseminates funds between his campaign, his “Heal America” leadership PAC, and the Utah GOP. Kennedy's quarterly fundraising totaled $216,000—with individual donors accounting for nearly two-thirds at $123,000—leaving him with $236,000 in reserve.
Kennedy still has more than $600,000 of unpaid personal loans he made to his 2024 congressional campaign and his ill-fated 2018 Senate primary joust with Mitt Romney. FEC rules allow for those loans to be repaid using campaign funds, a move Kennedy has not made yet. Rep. Blake Moore made personal loans to his 2020 campaign for Congress totaling more than $288,000, which he repaid using campaign donations.
In what could be a good omen for Utah’s dreams of landing a Major League Baseball franchise, the political action committee connected to the MLB Commissioner made campaign contributions to Sen. Mike Lee and Blake Moore. Moore’s campaign received $2,500, while Lee’s leadership PAC received $5,000.
