There's no doubt that the Democrats in Utah County have shown their teeth this year.

In six of 11 county-based races, Democrats out-raised their GOP counterparts, though not all are sitting atop a larger pile of cash.

"This is a sign of major disenchantment with the status quo," said Richard Davis, Utah County Democratic Party chairman. "Putting up money to support these challengers really shows people are willing to support who they believe in."

But throwing rocks at that beehive is tricky. The Republicans haven't yet distributed money from their annual Lincoln Day dinner, which pulled in more than $50,000. The party had to wait to distribute that money until it knew whether there would be any primary races. At the convention Saturday, one incumbent and all other challengers were eliminated.

"Now that we have no primaries in those races, why, we can start disbursing," said party chairwoman Marian Monnahan.

There's also the Utah County Legislative PAC, which was founded by Republican leaders and can put together fistfuls of dollars in a hurry.

"Raising money is not going to be a problem for any Republican candidate this cycle," said Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble, R-Provo. Bramble's own financial dominance likely won't be challenged. He has nearly $70,000 in his war chest after already spending $32,500, much of it on mailers during the legislative session. There are now two Democrats vying to challenge Bramble in the general election.

But not everyone is the Senate Majority Leader with deep roots and a well-oiled fundraising machine in place. Rep. Stephen Sandstrom in District 58 has about $9,000 in the bank, but $5,000 of that came from his own architecture firm. His Democratic opponent, Steven Baugh, has about $12,000 in the bank.

"I've done what any novice candidate would do, and sent envelopes to relatives, neighbors and friends," Baugh said.

Baugh suspects he's going to have to raise $25,000 to $45,000 to compete with Sandstrom, who has been busy with the legislative session.

"I think Steve will raise a lot of money," Baugh said. "He really hasn't had the time to really devote to this."