Utah is playing a more central role in the upcoming presidential election than it has in almost any other, with Utahns donating large amounts of money to presidential candidates.

Because the state has less than 1 percent of the nation's population, presidential votes from the state account for only a small percentage of the final tally. But Utah is making a difference in this highly competitive election by contributing more money than ever before.

According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, D.C., which organizes publicly available campaign contribution data from the Federal Election Commission, Utah has donated more than $5.5 million to presidential candidates -- more than several more populous states. The state ranks 34th in population but 14th in campaign contributions, giving more money per capita than all but three states.

New Mexico, ranked No. 1 in per capita donations, is an anomaly, mostly because its governor, Bill Richards, is running for president. Massie Ritsch, a spokeswoman for the CRP, said many of the donations there come from New Mexico state employees.

It's no surprise that Utah is giving so much this election cycle, said Marian Monnahan, Utah County Republican chairwoman, because Utahns are particularly interested in one candidate -- Mitt Romney, who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Except for California, Utah has raised more money for Romney than any other state, including his home state of Massachusetts, where he was governor.

"I think they're probably happy with a certain candidate," Monnahan said of Utah contributors. "And what's surprising about thatfi Most of the state is of the same religion, and he did a great job on the Olympics, and most of the people here like him."

Richard Davis, Utah County Democratic chairman and Brigham Young University political science professor, agreed that many Utahns have a sense of pride that a fellow LDS member is running for president.

"That's something that hasn't happened for 40 years," Davis said. "He is really the first serious LDS presidential candidate since his father, George Romney, ran in '67."

In the past decade of election cycles, Utahns' donations have been split 70/30 between Republican and Democratic candidates. But so far in this presidential election, 91 percent of Utah's money has gone to Republicans, making it the most imbalanced state in the nation behind New Mexico.

Most of that money has gone to Romney. After his $4.6 million, the next highest contribution amount went to U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, who has collected $227,500 from Utahns. The next highest Republican, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, has collected $181,400.

Raising money is an important part in any political race, but BYU political science professor Kelly Patterson said it is particularly a factor in this current race because it is so competitive.

"This election has required candidates to raise astronomical sums of money, surpassing all kinds of records," Patterson said. "For me, it's the most evident indicator that it's a very intense campaign cycle."

Patterson, who studies elections, said an unusual combination of three circumstances makes this race unique. First, there is no incumbent running as there was in 2004. Second, there is no "heir apparent" in either party, such as Al Gore was in 2000. Third, the environment is charged because there are some significant, salient issues on the national agenda such as abortion and the Iraq war. Patterson said that combination hasn't been seen in more than half a century.

"You almost have to go back to 1952 to find something comparable," Patterson said after counting backward through presidential elections. "All the others had one or two of those elements, but not all three."

And Utah, Patterson said, is right smack in the middle of it. Traditionally, candidates visit rich, populous states on either coast and politically important states like New Hampshire and Iowa (because of their early primaries and caucuses). But this year, Utah is involved in the race much more than usual. Several Republican candidates, including Romney, Giuliani, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee have visited Utah, but so have Democrats Obama and Richardson. U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, planned a visit but her husband, Bill Clinton, will come instead.

"We rarely see presidential candidates here because it's not a competitive state," Patterson said. "It's not an efficient use of resources. But this time you do have Utah playing a significant role in choosing the nominee. With the amount of money and the candidates who have stopped by here, it's a rare glimpse into the presidential cycle that Utah's getting."

Even unlikely contributors are donating large sums to Romney. In Utah, 22 people listing their occupation as "student" have contributed $2,100 or more to presidential campaigns. Five BYU students are among them, and one BYU student, Ashley Samuelian, donated $4,600 to Romney. Samuelian and the other four students did not return calls and e-mails seeking comment.

The FEC imposes a limit on contributions from individuals of $2,300 per election (including the primary and general elections). The campaigns are required to report and itemize all donations more than $200, and those reports are public information.

Davis said sometimes when people list occupations such as "student" or "homemaker," it means a family is donating together.

"It could be a parent there who is giving to Mitt Romney," Davis said. "And because there's a limit, the way to enhance your giving is to have family members give as well. So the individual looks like they've been giving, but it may well be somebody else. It could be that they're giving it without coordination, which is unlikely, or maybe there's some coordination there."

Nationally, presidential candidates have already received 1,079 donations worth about $2 million from students. Nearly 2,500 students gave $2.8 million in 2004.

FEC regulations actually prohibit "contributions in the name of another," which it defines as "giving money or anything of value, all or part of which was provided to the contributor by another person (the true contributor)" without disclosing the true source of the money. But if parents are giving money to students to contribute, Ritsch said it would be hard to find out.

"As long as the check is written from the student's account, the FEC assumes it's their money, their decision, and, therefore, a legal donation," Ritsch said.