Campaigns Raise, Burn More Cash, More Quickly

"I think what you'll see is basically the campaign starting over with a great donor list and a great finance committee," said Charlie Black, a longtime McCain fundraiser and adviser. "If we can raise enough money to keep to our scaled-down budget, we'll be fine."

Of the candidates mounting a serious push for the 2008 nomination, records released yesterday show that among Republicans, Thompson, Huckabee and Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.) all have less than $1 million. Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio) also has less than $1 million.

None of those candidates has signaled anything but an intent to forge ahead. But Joseph Trippi, who is running the campaign of former senator John Edwards (D-N.C.), recalled the tough calculations he had to make when advising Howard Dean during his 2004 bid.

"You can move a message with very little money," Trippi said. "Where you find trouble is if you hit a stage where you say, 'I'm not even sure if I can manage to run the basics: paying for airfare, bus fare, lodging, keeping the lights on.' "

Many of those who are struggling have depended on money from their home states. Thompson raised 62 percent of his funds from donors in Wisconsin, where he served four terms as governor. Huckabee took half his money from his home state of Arkansas. Democrat Bill Richardson got 37 percent of his $7 million in donations from New Mexico, where he is governor.

Trippi said the challenge for these candidates, in particular, is figuring out whether they can extend their reach beyond states where they have enjoyed political success. "That's a huge step," he said.

Biden has $2.7 million on hand and said he considers his haul "a solid showing," given the size of his home state, Delaware.

One exception among long-shot candidates is Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.), who has parlayed high-profile moments in the Republican debate and a frugal campaign into a balance of $2.4 million.

He is one of the few candidates from either party to raise more in the second three months of the year than in the first.

"Our fundraising speaks to the grass-roots explosion of our campaign," Paul spokesman Jesse Benton told the Associated Press. "It's very potent, very powerful and very exciting."

For some low-profile candidates, prospecting for donors can be particularly costly -- whether it's spending $6,313 to wine and dine supporters at the 21 Club in New York, as Biden did, or $675,195 to send out literature, as Brownback did. That was more than the $539,517 Paul spent on his entire campaign in the past three months.

Keeping pace with well-funded opponents can be a challenge. Giuliani spent $1.4 million between April and June on 28 fundraising consultants and 18 political consultants. Edwards paid $233,000 to his finance chairman, Texas attorney Fred Baron, for frequent flights on his private jet.