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When Lt. Gov. Diane Denish said earlier this month she'd stick to her plan to run for governor in 2010, she had good reason.

Already, the Democrat has more than $1 million in the bank for the contest and no announced opponents.

While her ascent to governor might look like it will be easy, Denish wanted the word out Tuesday about how much she's raised. She was not required to post the numbers; she did it voluntarily.

The move could be to stem any opposition early in the process, said University of New Mexico political science professor Lonna Atkeson.

"That should scare off potential opponents," she said. "War chests are good because they scare off people."

By comparison, the most raised by a candidate running in the 2008 race for the state's 1st Congressional District is $317,500 - Democrat Martin Heinrich of Albuquerque. In the U.S. Senate race, the highest amount raised so far is $755,000 - U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, an Albuquerque Republican.

Between July and September, Denish received more than $221,000 in contributions and spent $78,901. She has $260,225 in unpaid campaign debt, her campaign records show. She received more than $7,570 in in-kind donations.

The records also show that 24 of her 392 donations were of $2,000 or more, and 11 were of $3,000 or more.

Her biggest contributors included people in the real estate business, lawyers and bankers. She also got contributions from the airplane, oil and racetrack industries, and used interest earnings for her campaign, as well.

She spent most of her money on routine election expenses: consultants, campaign workers and credit card bills.

Denish was elected lieutenant governor in 2002 with Gov. Bill Richardson and re-elected in 2006.