Edwards dominates fundraising in the South

Its not surprising that the two New Yorkers considered front-runners in the 2008 race — Clinton and Giuliani — fared particularly poorly in the region. But the Edwards team was out in force showing a new analysis that shows while trailing in 3rd in the nation-wide fundraising, the picture is different in the South.

But in money raised in the South, Edwards was the leader. From Louisiana to the Carolinas, Edwards easily beat his Democratic rivals and — perhaps more importantly — raised more money than the top three Republican candidates combined.

Counting only Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, Edwards raised $2,723,000. That's more than six times Clinton's take of $440,471 and nearly four times the $705,650 raised by Obama, according to numbers compiled by PoliticalMoneyLine.org, an online repository of campaign finance data.

Among Republicans, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney led the way with $1,127,484, compared with $603,723 for Arizona Sen. John McCain and $384,500 for Giuliani.