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Chaffetz Challenger Outraises Him By More Than 3-1

Democrat Kathryn Allen raised $561,000 since getting into the race in last month

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, conducts the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee meeting to organize for the 115th Congress on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, conducts the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee meeting to organize for the 115th Congress on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz’s Democratic challenger outraised him by a more than 3-1 margin in the first quarter of the year.

Kathryn Allen, a physician who announced in March she would challenge Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, raised $561,000 compared with Chaffetz’s $171,000, The Associated Press reported.

Allen also had more cash on hand according to her Federal Election Commission report, with $534,278 to Chaffetz’s $402,670.62.

The campaign hasn’t yet started in earnest but Chaffetz has earned the ire of Democrats nationwide during his five terms in Congress. Ahead of the 2016 presidential election, he pledged “years of investigations” into Hillary Clinton if she was elected.

Chaffetz has also angered D.C. residents for what they see as violating the city’s sovereignty and unsuccessfully trying to stop the city’s assisted suicide law.

Many of Allen’s contributions came from Crowdpac, a nonpartisan, for-profit organization based in Palo Alto, Calif, in which people made conduit campaign donations.

Among the people who donated to Allen through CrowdPAC was actress Rosie O’Donnell, who has long been an antagonist of President Donald Trump. Chaffetz had previously tried using O’Donnell to motivate conservatives to support him.

Last month, Allen claimed that she had raised $35,000 in 24 hours after Chaffetz’s comments about the Republican health care bill that people would have to choose between the latest iPhone and health care.

The AP couldn’t reach Chaffetz for comment, but he told the Salt Lake Tribune, “We’re right where we need to be. This has never been a problem for me. The election is still a long time away.”

Correction 1:50 p.m. | An earlier version of this story misspelled Crowdpac.

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