"But I found (Internet designers and users) were a lot of talk and very little walk," Ashdown said Monday. He was able to find only two political action committees that are directly connected to the Internet.

"IPAC has given me a little money. Microsoft's PAC wasn't interested in me" because of Ashdown's stands on a few Internet issues that crossed the software giant.

When he started his campaign a year ago, "I presumed that the high-tech community would be as opposed to Hatch as I," Ashdown said.

He also believed that any number of Internet blogs would take up his issues, and report on him regularly, thus helping him raise money. But that hasn't happened either.

"I found that they all have the same tunnel vision" of national Democrats, who will only provide funds in so-called swing districts.

Ashdown, way down in Utah polls, says after the election he just might start his own Internet-influenced political action committee.

"At first I thought I'd call it TechPAC. But now I like LongshotPAC. I'd raise money for (Democratic candidates in) those kind of races — that's what we need to rebuild this party," Ashdown said.

There are several debates scheduled in the U.S. Senate race. The next is 7 p.m. Wednesday on KTVX Channel 4. Ashdown has one of the most Internet-savvy Web sites around. You can find Ashdown's debate schedule there; you can even watch previous debates at www.peteashdown.org.

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E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com