SALT LAKE CITY -- Democratic Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon will kick off his gubernatorial campaign with about $300,000 in the bank, a spokesman said Monday.
Corroon will formally announce his candidacy for governor on Tuesday, becoming the only Democrat seeking to unseat Republican Gov. Gary Herbert.
Herbert took office in August after Jon Huntsman resigned to become U.S. ambassador to China and has already raised more than $1 million, although it wasn't immediately clear how much of that has been spent.
Financial disclosure reports were due Monday.
Corroon campaign spokesman Darrick McCasland said Corroon's political action committee raised nearly $340,000, including transferring about $76,000 from his mayoral campaign account.
"It's a challenge when you're running against a technically incumbent governor, but considering that we have yet to announce our campaign ... our numbers are pretty impressive for an unannounced, unknown campaign," McCasland said. "Especially given the fact that over $240,000 of that was raised in December alone."
McCasland said Corroon's biggest individual contributor is WordPerfect founder and gay rights advocate Bruce Bastian, who gave $15,000.
McCasland said he didn't know if Corroon supports campaign contribution limits, which has been recommended by the Governor's Commission on Strengthening Democracy and is part of a citizens' ethics initiative supporters are trying to place on the ballot in 2010.
McCasland said Corroon would not be speaking with reporters on Monday.
Republican Gov. Gary Herbert, who raised $1 million at a single event last year, has repeatedly said he doesn't support contribution limits. Instead, Herbert has said he favors rapid disclosure.
Herbert's campaign Web site shows he's received multiple contributions worth as much as $50,000. Most of Herbert's contributions come from energy-related companies.
Utah is one of a handful of states that doesn't place any limits on how much money someone can donate to a campaign or who can do it.
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