Hopefuls get ahead in White House 'money primary'

WASHINGTON — In one month, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney brought in a hefty $1.4 million-plus from donors to his Web site.

In one day, he secured a jaw-dropping $6.5 million in contributions and pledges from others — and he still has at least a dozen fund-raisers planned and nearly two more months to raise cash online and elsewhere before March 31.

That's the end of the first financial quarter of 2007 — and the first big test of who is a viable White House candidate.

The deadline is prompting Republican and Democratic contenders alike to focus heavily on raking in cash in the first few months of the year as they seek to generate a sense of momentum for their candidacies and ensure they have enough money to be competitive in next year's nominating contests.

"There's more pressure than ever before to raise money early," said Anthony Corrado of Colby College in Maine, who specializes in presidential elections and campaign finance.

So, such top-tier candidates as Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton are working to make good on the widely held belief that they can raise $80 million to $100 million this year alone.

Other leading candidates — Romney and Rudy Giuliani on the right, and Sen. Barack Obama and John Edwards on the left — are out to prove they can compete with the big dogs by posting equally large numbers. And, long-shot candidates are trying to show they are relevant, too.

"Meeting expectations may matter as much as raw numbers," said Bradley Smith, a former Federal Election Commission chairman who now teaches at Capital University in Ohio.

In what political operatives call the "money primary," candidates are courting marquee donors, hosting high-priced galas, e-mailing pitches to grass-roots supporters and driving backers to their Web sites to build a solid campaign fund.

On the Republican side, the serious candidates wasted no time in trying to nab as many of President Bush's chief donors — called Rangers and Pioneers — as they could. Democrats, for their part, have fought over loyal, left-flank donors in the liberal bastions of Hollywood and New York.

Aside from Romney, of the other top-tier candidates: