Giuliani Leads GOP 3rd-Quarter Money Race

"Nothing raises money more than hate," Kaufman said. "And their side really hates George W. Bush."

Another factor, Kaufman said, is that the Republican field is more "murky" than the Democratic field.

Three months ago, more than half of those designated Rangers and Pioneers for helping bankroll the Bush campaigns in 2000 and 2004 had not made a contribution to a presidential candidate. Curt Kiser, a Florida lawyer who is raising money for Thompson, said he has yet to see a major shift.

"I still don't think many of the Pioneers and Rangers have gone one way or another yet," Kiser said. "There's been no major movement that I've seen."

In 2000, Bush and the other Republican candidates raised $145 million during the primaries, while then-Vice President Gore and former New Jersey senator Bill Bradley raised $63 million. In 1988, George H.W. Bush and the Republicans raised $77.5 million, while Democratic presidential nominee Michael S. Dukakis and his party raised $56 million.

Bradley A. Smith, a Republican campaign finance expert who once chaired the Federal Election Commission, said that there is reason for the party to be concerned. After maintaining an edge by virtue of its mastery of direct-mail fundraising and organizational discipline, Smith said, Republicans have allowed Democrats to get an edge with online donors.

"The big concern," Smith said, "is that the Republicans may find themselves in the position the Democrats were in for 30 years, where they could never catch up with the prevailing means of fundraising. Today, it's about technology, the Internet, an ability to renew their database and reconnect with voters. Democrats are doing that, while Republicans, I think, are a bit exhausted."

But technology could also be the savior for the GOP, said former party chairman Ken Mehlman.

"I think what technology does is it lets the one who is behind make up that advantage very quickly," he said. "Technology means, if we have the right message, there is an opportunity."

Staff researcher Madonna Lebling contributed to this report.