With six weeks until Election Day, Utah House Republicans are writing bigger checks to protect a handful of seats.
The House Republican Election Committee gave $61,500 to candidates in a dozen House races over the past two weeks. Most of the checks were between $1,000 and $2,500, the typical amount the PAC gives Republican candidates. A few five-figure donations stand out, and several went to races that hadn't drawn money from the caucus PAC or House Speaker Mike Schultz's leadership PAC until now.
The new spending follows an analysis earlier this month of where both parties are sending money, either to prop up vulnerable incumbents or to go after seats they think they can flip.
New races on the GOP's radar
HD03: Rep. Jason Thompson is in a rematch with independent Patrick Belmont, whom he beat by 1,221 votes in 2024. Last week the House GOP PAC and Schultz's PAC each gave Thompson $5,000. That follows $7,500 from Schultz's PAC and $5,000 from the House GOP PAC in early September.
Thompson also got $7,500 from the Northern Utah Legislative PAC, which is controlled by Republican state Sen. Ann Millner and House Majority Leader Casey Snider.
The seat is rated "Lean Republican" in our 2026 Race Ratings, but our Utah Competitiveness Index suggests this race could be a competitive one.
HD38: No Democrat is running for the open seat that GOP Rep. Cheryl Acton is leaving, which is the main reason the district is rated "Safe Republican" in our 2026 Race Ratings.
Republicans are spending there anyway. Last week GOP candidate Chris McConnehey got $10,000 from the House GOP PAC and $5,000 from Schultz's PAC. The same week, unaffiliated candidate Sergio Sotelo got $6,000 from the Utah Investors Network PAC, which usually backs Democrats.
HD39: Rep. Ken Ivory got $10,000 checks from the House GOP PAC and Schultz's PAC on the same day. They're the two largest donations to his campaign this year.
The district is rated "Lean Republican" in our 2026 Race Ratings, but the Utah Competitiveness Index shows it's within reach for Democrats. Donald Trump carried it by fewer than 8 points in both 2020 and 2024. Ivory beat his Democratic opponent by 1,254 votes in 2022. In 2024 no Democrat ran, and he beat an unaffiliated challenger by 1,687 votes.
His Democratic challenger this year, Drew Howells, hasn't reported a contribution since June.
HD42: Rep. Clint Okerlund holds one of only two Republican-held House districts that Democrat Kamala Harris carried in 2024. She beat Trump there by 2.6 points, and Trump and Joe Biden essentially tied there in 2020.
Last week the House GOP PAC sent Okerlund two checks totaling $15,000. He beat his Democratic opponent by just over 2,250 votes in 2024. His challenger this year, Iva Williams, hasn't received any money from the House Democratic PAC this cycle. The district is rated "Lean Republican."
More money for Republicans in competitive races
HD10: Schultz's PAC gave Jim Alvey another $10,000, adding to the $15,000 it gave him earlier this year. Last week the Northern Utah Legislative PAC also gave him $15,000, and the House GOP PAC gave him $20,000 in August.
Those four checks make up nearly 80% of what Alvey has raised this cycle. That money is helping him keep up with Democrat Rosemary Lesser, who is seeking to regain this seat she lost by fewer than 300 votes in 2025. She has raised more than $63,000 since mid-June.
HD26: On Sept. 21, Rep. Matt MacPherson got another $10,000 from the House GOP PAC and $15,000 from Schultz's PAC. He has raised $103,348 this cycle, and the $75,000 from those two PACs makes up nearly 75% of it.
House Democrats gave his challenger, Michael Finch, another $1,500 this week, after giving him $5,000 in August. Trump won the district by just 1.2 points in 2024, four years after Biden carried it by 3.8.
HD27: Last week the House GOP PAC gave Rep. Anthony Loubet another $10,000, which doubles what it gave him in August. Schultz's PAC also gave him $10,000 in August. Trump carried the district by 7.2 points in 2024 but by just 2.8 in 2020.