Many GOP Donors Yet to Open Wallets

Some of the top Bush fundraisers have stepped aside from politics for other reasons. There are those who had personal friendships with the Bush family that do not extend to other candidates, those who have tired of repeatedly soliciting friends for checks. Some are in prison or are dead.

A sizable number still have a wait-and-see attitude, despite the fact that the field appears to be set after the late entry of Thompson and the decision by former House speaker Newt Gingrich to stay out.

"I've been courted by several of them, but I really haven't made a decision," said John Etchart, a businessman in Helena, Mont., who was a Pioneer in 2004.

"With the Bush campaign, I was connected to it, so it was natural for me. I had an affinity for Governor Bush," he said. "That's not the case now. There's a natural barrier to entry that I have not overcome. I'm watching it and I'm staying tuned in."

Etchart said he is not convinced that the party is in such dire condition that it cannot bounce back before November 2008.

"Obviously these aren't the rosiest times," he said. "But I do think the Republican nominee will stand a very good chance of winning, notwithstanding the present difficulty."

Many Republicans argue that if Clinton is the Democratic nominee, the party's financial woes will disappear.

"We have a handful of candidates that will be acceptable to the 'Hate Hillary' crowd," said Anne Dunsmore, a longtime Republican fundraiser based in California. "You don't see us trying to take her out."

But John Weaver, a former senior adviser for McCain's campaign, argued that the fundraising dynamic speaks to a broader problem for the GOP.

"There is currently a lack of energy, a lack of enthusiasm, a lack of optimism about the near-term future of the party," he said. "If it doesn't change quickly, it's a leading indicator of what kind of problem we are going to have next fall."

Database editor Sarah Cohen and staff researcher Madonna Lebling contributed to this report.