Dean far out-paces other Democrats as Bush treasury soars

The former Vermont governor, once considered a long shot, told supporters, "You have the power" in an early evening e-mail, as his Web site showed the campaign closing in on its goal of collecting $15 million for the three months ending at midnight.

That tally was dwarfed by the estimated $50 million that President Bush's team raised in the same period, keeping the re-election effort on pace to break records for a primary campaign.

Even so, Dean's fund-raising stood out because it continued to escalate, even as other Democratic campaigns indicated they collected less than in the previous quarter. His overall fund-raising is expected to reach $25 million so far this year, compared with more than $80 million for the Bush campaign.

No other Democrat is expected to top $5 million this quarter.