This article originally appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune. Read it in its entirety here.
Incoming Utah legislators collected only 6 percent of their campaign donations during the 2018 election year from voters who actually live in their districts.
The lion’s share of contributions — 82.4 percent — came from special-interest groups or out-of-state donors. Another 3.6 percent came from candidates’ own pockets or close relatives, and 8 percent came from Utahns who lived outside a receiving lawmaker’s district, according to an analysis by The Salt Lake Tribune.
“If 80 percent of your money comes from special interests, it seems like you’re going to be more beholden to them,” says Chase Thomas, executive director of the left-leaning Alliance for a Better Utah, which backs campaign-finance reform.
This article originally appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune. Read it in its entirety here.
