Dean sets a record pace for cash

Dean's fundraising ability may also be a better indicator of his overall support, since a greater proportion of his contributions have come from small donors, many contributing over the Internet.

To some observers, Dean's fundraising strength is less noteworthy than the relative weakness of some of his rivals - who may find themselves struggling to compete as the cost of campaigning escalates in coming months.

Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, for example, was expected to raise around $2 million this quarter, bringing his total for the year to roughly $5 million.

"The real story isn't so much that Dean's way in front - it's that some candidates are way behind," says Clyde Wilcox, a political scientist at Georgetown University. "If you don't have enough money to advertise, if you don't have enough money to fly your planes and get to key states, then you're in deep trouble."

Adding to the financial pressure on Democrats is the backdrop of President Bush's war chest. In the past three months alone, Mr. Bush raised almost $50 million - more than tripling Dean's take, and bringing the president's total for the year to around $84 million. In just one day this week, Bush raised $5.3 million, beating the total haul of many Democrats for the entire quarter.

Bush's sizeable fundraising advantage - and the fact that he will not take federal matching funds and so will not be hampered by spending limits - has led both Dean and Kerry to consider opting out of public financing as well, a move that may become even more likely in the wake of Dean's recent fundraising success.

Still, analysts say many of the Democratic candidates have raised enough overall to remain more than viable for the time being. Senator Kerry, who's next behind Dean in fundraising totals, has exceeded $20 million for the year so far. Likewise, Senator Edwards is expected to total around $15 million for the year, with. Rep. Richard Gephardt and Sen. Joseph Lieberman expected to come in behind that.

The biggest unknown remains newcomer Clark, who raised three-quarters of a million dollars in his first few days in the race and was expected to report around $2.5 million for the quarter - a relatively strong number, given his brief candidacy.

Yet some analysts remain skeptical: Early fundraising success is not necessarily a guarantee of ongoing strength, since candidates often tap their most ardent supporters first. And Clark will still have a big deficit to overcome if he is to compete with the overall cash totals of rivals such as Dean and Kerry.

"It's always relatively easy to get the low-hanging fruit," says Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia. "[Clark] would have to raise an enormous sum in the fourth quarter to even come close to where Dean is going to be. That's highly unlikely."

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