2008 Presidential Election thread part II - fundraising

[El Diablo]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/04/....ap/index.html

"• Romney raises $23 million though he trails in polls
• GOP frontrunner Rudy Giuliani reports $15 million, John McCain $12.5 million
• Sen. Hillary Clinton posts $26 million, John Edwards raised $14 million
• Democrat Sen. Barack Obama to release fundraising figures on Wednesday"

Compare this to:

"The prior records for first-quarter fundraising were held by Republican Phil Gramm of Texas and Democrat Al Gore of Tennessee. Gramm raised $8.7 million in 1995, while Gore raised $8.9 million in 1999."

What are the impacts of this level of fundraising going to be? Are lesser-known candidates going to drop out far earlier? Will voter turnouts increase?