US presidential candidates are trying to come up with new ways to raise money now to get them through the New Hampshire and Iowa nominating contests.
The Iowa caucuses are slated for January 3 and New Hampshire's primary will likely be a few days later. With several other states quickly following, candidates are being forced to raise millions of dollars to pay for advertising, staff, and travel.
"Anyone who has given before and anyone who has had their e-mail captured by a Web site can count on seeing a large number of e-mails from these campaigns asking for dollars as we head into the crucial Iowa primary," said Anthony Corrado, a professor of government at Colby College in Maine.
He said candidates who do not finish in the top three in the two early voting states usually will find it harder to raise money and move ahead. To that end, candidates have tried unconventional pitches for more contributions ahead of the November 2008 election, which is expected to be the most expensive in US history.
Long-shot Republican candidate Ron Paul's supporters raised $4.3 million on the Internet in one day, not by accident on the anniversary of a plot by British rebels to unseat the government by trying to blow up the Houses of Parliament.
In a more traditional vein, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton tried to elicit support after a lackluster performance in a debate last month by asking backers to donate $1 million before the Las Vegas debate as her rivals step up attacks.
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