Pataki is considered a prodigious fundraiser, having spent more than $42 million on his last campaign, in 2002. Pataki aides note that their boss devoted himself to raising $10 million for President Bush's reelection campaign last year.
And if a credible alternative to Spitzer emerges, at least some in the business community would be happy to help. U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas J. Donahue has called Spitzer's investigations of Wall Street research, mutual fund trading and insurance "the most egregious and unacceptable form of intimidation that we have seen in this country in modern time."
The chamber's political director, William Miller, said this week that "while it is extremely rare for the chamber to take a position in a gubernatorial race, this is a race we're looking at."
Many Wall Street firms, their executive committees and their bond underwriters are forced to stay on the sidelines by a New York law that bans firms that have or are seeking municipal bond business from contributing to the governor's race.
But that rule wouldn't bar other parts of the big Wall Street firms from tossing money in where they see fit.
Some are quietly donating to Spitzer, either because they think he has uncovered genuine abuses or because they hope a move to the governor's mansion would make him too busy to focus on their industry, according to his supporters and securities industry executives.
Spitzer fundraiser Nancy A. Lieberman, a partner at Skadden Arps, where she met Spitzer when both were lawyers there, said a few Wall Street executives have been among the givers at the fundraising events she hosts in her apartment. She said they have told her: "Please don't tell my partners I came to this thing, but he's put his finger on things that have to be fixed."
Others are waiting to see who else is out there, though none wanted to be quoted on the record saying so.
For his part, Spitzer has been trying to avoid appearances of conflict. His campaign requires contributors to attest that they have no business pending before the attorney general's office, and a screening committee double-checks all contributions. In the past year, the campaign has returned donations from accounting firm KPMG and developer Donald Trump.
Spitzer does accept checks from lawyers whose clients have business before him and from participants in industries -- such as mutual funds and insurance -- where he has active probes.
"Mr. Spitzer's fundraising policies set a higher standard than required by law," said his spokesman, Darren Dopp. "At any given moment, there are active investigations in virtually every industry. An investigation of one company should not disqualify hundreds of other companies in a given industry from contributing."
So far, neither Spitzer's internal restrictions nor his attacks on Wall Street have proved a major hindrance. Unless and until his detractors find a strong candidate to back, the enthusiasm generated by his reputation for standing up for investors and consumers have far outweighed any ill will generated by his probes, his supporters and political observers say.
"The members of my union love him because of the way he's dealing with abuse of power," said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the 100,000-member Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which has given Spitzer more than $10,250 in the past three years. "We're thrilled to have the opportunity to support Spitzer's campaign."
Birnbaum reported from Washington.
