Dean a Resounding Winner in 'Money Primary' [View All]

[reprehensor]

http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/010204J.shtml

"With more than $40 million now raised in his run for the White House, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean posted a resounding victory Wednesday in the yearlong dash for cash among Democratic presidential candidates, cementing his status as the contender to beat in the race.

For all the importance of the Jan. 19 Iowa caucuses and the Jan. 27 New Hampshire primary, some analysts say the results of the "money primary" in the year before a presidential election are an even better guide to who will become the nominee. Since 1980, no major-party candidate who led in donations received by Jan. 1 of an election year has failed to clinch the nomination.

Dean's fundraising is "really what put him on the map as a candidate and allowed him to achieve the status he achieved," said Anthony J. Corrado Jr., a campaign finance expert at Colby College. "It has created a situation where most of the other candidates are going to find it hard to compete financially with Dean."

Dean's rivals acknowledge his fundraising prowess but say that his money advantage will not translate into victories when the contests begin. "