SALT LAKE CITY — Gov. Gary Herbert’s annual fundraising gala Saturday was expected to add just over $1.1 million to his campaign war chest as he readies for a 2016 challenge from fellow Republican Jonathan Johnson.

“The number of people who have shown up for this event year after year is a definite indicator of the strong support the governor enjoys,” said Marty Carpenter, the head of Herbert’s re-election campaign.

Carpenter said this year’s Governor’s Gala was moved to the Salt Palace to accommodate more contributors. He said 1,500 people were expected to attend, up from 1,100 in 2014.

Contributors paid $5,000 for a table or as much as $25,000 to be designated a sponsor. The list of sponsors included Huntsman Corp., Layton Construction, Merit Medical Systems, Questar Gas, Zions Bank and the Spencer F. Eccles family.

Although Johnson, chairman of Overstock.com, formally announced in August he is running against the governor, Carpenter said the competition is not having an impact on fundraising.

“There’s no indication of that at all. The governor has strong support from a pretty broad group,” Carpenter said, calling the gala “an opportunity for him to thank those who have been strong supporters of his administration.”

Herbert donated $5,000 from the proceeds to the Utah Food Bank, Carpenter said.

Johnson’s spokeswoman, Sasha Clark, said the “million-dollar gala tonight and multiple fundraisers this year shows a laughable height of hypocrisy” because the governor has not yet responded to a call for debates.

“Utahns need a governor who is willing to prioritize debating issues critical to Utah over spending endless hours courting money from special interest groups,” Clark said.

Carpenter said fundraising is an effort that’s ongoing for every elected official.

“Fundraising is just something that takes place in the natural course of an election cycle and I don’t think it’s anything out of the ordinary,” he said, noting the governor has held such events annually throughout his time in office.

“The actual time to campaign is something that will come in 2016,” Carpenter said. As for setting up debates, he said “there will be an appropriate time to do that.”