Legislative Republicans donate to help their colleagues fend off intra-party challengers

Used to be the Utah House and Senate majority political action committees would stay out of intraparty primary fights.

But no more.

The groups now routinely give to incumbent GOP lawmakers being challenged by other Republicans who want their jobs – in short, taking the side of their incumbent friends over other Republicans in the primary.

The primary election is a week away, and UtahPolicy.com finds that five House members being challenged from their party’s right wing have gotten money from the House GOP PAC.

Not a lot of money from the PAC, but still hefty sums considering it’s hard for anyone to raise money for a party primary.

Meanwhile, the Senate GOP PAC gave $1,000 to 19 Republican senators in January, whether they had an election this year or not.

That included $1,000 for recently-appointed Sen. Brian Zehnder, R-Holladay, who ended up having a primary with challenger Jaren Davis.

Two of the largest House donations -- $1,500 each – go to Reps. Ray Ward, R-Bountiful, and Christine Watkins, R-Price.

Each is notable, but for different reasons.

Ward is in a bitter battle with former GOP vice chairman Phill Wright in House District 19.

Watkins is a former Democratic House member who switched parties several years ago after being beaten in House District 69 by a Republican.

This year she is being challenged by Republican Carbon County Commissioner Jae Potter – who when he first won election in 2010 was the first Republican to win in the heavily Democratic/coal county in 70 years.

While Watkins has been accepted as a Republican by her fellow House GOP caucus members -- House Speaker Greg Hughes appointed her to the coveted Rules Committee and has given her $1,000 already this year -- clearly she is still suspect to some District 69 old guard Republicans, who don’t like a former Democrat coming into their party and winning what had been until the 2011 redistricting a safe Democratic state House seat.

Meanwhile, the Ward/Wright race has gotten ugly.

Both sides are slinging accusations back and forth.

Wright is the closet leader of the "Gang of 51" – the hardline state GOP Central Committee members who’ve been battling state chair Rob Anderson and other Republicans over the SB54 lawsuit and party control.

Entrata boss Dave Bateman is now bankrolling the SB54 lawsuit, and Bateman and Keep My Voice folks, at least for now, successfully got the pro-SB54 Count My Vote citizen initiative petition kicked off of the 2018 ballot.

Anyway, Bateman has hired Wright as his firm’s “government relations” director. And Entrata has given Wright $10,000 for his campaign against Ward – by far Wright’s largest contribution and almost half of what he’s raised so far.

Ward, meanwhile, not only has the support of the House GOP PAC, he’s gotten support from a number of the pro-SB54/Count My Vote folks, as well.

One of his largest contributions, $2,500, is from the Utah Women And Politics PAC, which opposes President Donald Trump and right-wing politics. And the Utah Education Association (the main teacher union in the state) has given Ward $1,000.

All told, Ward has raised more than $40,000, a significant amount for a Utah House race.

Wright has raised more than $22,000.

Final tidbit: Among the state senators who got $1,000 from their majority PAC are Sens. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper; Margaret Dayton, R-Orem; and Kevin Van Tassell, R-Vernal – all of whom chose not to seek re-election this year.