In what’s shaping up to be one of the most expensive primary races in Salt Lake City history, the eight candidates running for mayor have raised nearly $1.5 million collectively ahead of next week’s election, according to new numbers released Tuesday.
The mayoral hopefuls have poured nearly that much into flyers, mailers and other campaign expenses, with $1.1 million spent so far as they seek a job that pays around $144,000 a year.
“It’s brutal,” Sen. Luz Escamilla, one of the frontrunners in the race, said Wednesday. “It’s a lot of money. I think a very crowded primary, obviously that increases the cost because you have everyone competing for the same universe of voters.