Lt. Gov. Diane Denish remains well ahead in raising money for the 2010 race for governor, but four Republican candidates also have begun collecting cash.

Denish, who has been running for more than two years, has nearly $2.2 million in the bank for her campaign. She took in more than $931,000 in cash since May, when the last required reports were filed.

She also received nearly $110,00 in in-kind donations, bringing her total for the past five months to more than $1 million.

No other Democrats have declared plans to run for governor in the June primary. Gov. Bill Richardson is term-limited and can't seek re-election.

The reports provide an early measure of candidates' ability to attract financial backers. And State Democratic Party Chairman Javier Gonzales boasted in a news release that Denish has raised more cash than all four of the Republican candidates combined.

On the GOP side, Allen Weh, a former state Republican Party chairman, led the pack. He reported nearly $550,000 — about half of which is from personal loans and in-kind donations. Weh and his wife Becky loaned the campaign $250,000. The largest portion of Weh's $64,925 in in-kind donations was from his own company, CSI Aviation Services.

Weh, a retired Marine colonel, reported $372,000 cash on hand.

Another Republican candidate, public-relations company owner Doug Turner, reported raising nearly $256,000. But $243,552 of that comes from loans from himself and his Albuquerque company. Turner, who was former Gov. Gary Johnson's campaign manager, reported more than $211,000 cash on hand. He has yet to formally declare his candidacy.

Las Cruces District Attorney Susana Martinez raised more than $141,000, which includes $2,400 in in-kind donations. She has spent more than $10,00 and has $130,658 in the bank, her report said.

Another GOP candidate for chief executive, Janice Arnold-Jones, has raised almost $21,000 in cash plus another $2,000 in in-kind donations.

Of all the gubernatorial candidates, Denish is the only one who has been a candidate in a statewide race. She was on the same ticket as Richardson in 2002 and 2006.

Since that 2002 race, running for governor has become an expensive proposition. Richardson raised more than $8 million for his 2002 race — a record at the time. But in 2006, he raised more than $12 million.

Whether Denish or any of the Republicans match that remains to be seen. But the 2010 race could be the last of the multimillion gubernatorial campaigns. The Legislature this year passed limits on campaign contributions. Under the new law — which goes into effect following next year's election — individuals donating to candidates for statewide offices such as governor may give up to $5,000 for the primary and another $5,000 for the general elections. Political action committees after next year can only give $5,000 to a candidate for each election.

Denish's largest contributions were $25,000 from the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters union; $14,000 from Sunray Gaming of New Mexico, which runs a Farmington racetrack; $11,500 from Southwest Investment Trust Inc. of Albuquerque; $10,000 each from Emily's List, a national political action committee that helps female Democratic candidates, and the Tru-flex Metal Hose Co. of Indiana; and $8,000 from Westland, a California developer that wants to build a 55,000-acre residential, commercial and industrial development on Albuquerque's West Mesa.

On the GOP side, Weh's biggest contributions were $25,000 checks from brother-in-law Steven Maestas of Los Ranchos, who is president of a commercial real estate company; Michael Merrell of Belen, who owns a health care company called Ambercare; and Mack Energy Co. of Artesia. He also received $12,000 from Albuquerque homebuilder John Wilger and $10,000 each from Alice Jerkens and Richard Wickens, both of Albuquerque and both listing occupations as "retired"; and Horner Inc., an Albuquerque construction company.

Weh has spent nearly $123,000 on his campaign since May. This left him with more than $370,000 cash on hand.

Besides the loans that Turner and his company made to his campaign, his biggest contributor was Merrion Oil & Gas in Farmington, which gave him $2,500.

The single household to donate the most money to the Martinez campaign was that of Roswell oilman Mark Murphy and his wife, Susan Scott Murphy. The couple gave a total of $13,000. Martinez also received $10,000 each from Royal Jones, owner of a Las Cruces trucking company; Anna Emerick-Biad of Las Cruces; and Joseph Semprevivo, who owns a cookie company in Vero Beach, Fla.

Arnold-Jones' biggest contribution was $5,000 from Juan Valdez, an Albuquerque road-hazard contractor. She also reported $2,000 from Diane Moseley Claire, a Santa Fe investor.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com.