Ron Paul on track to be biggest fundraiser
By: Jeanne Cummings
Nov 30, 2007 04:33 PM EST

Ron Paul's financial windfalls have come from spontaneous Internet giving or big, online donation days organized by supporters outside his campaign.

Ron Paul may not win his party’s primary, but he is on track to capture another big title: top Republican fundraiser for the final quarter of the money-obsessed 2008 presidential primary.

In the first two months of the quarter that began Oct. 1, Paul already has raised more than $9.75 million, putting him easily within range to best the amount rival Mitt Romney received from donors during the entire third quarter.

The Texas congressman has set a goal of raising $12 million before the fourth quarter’s Dec. 31 deadline, a sum New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani couldn’t achieve in the third quarter when fundraising events still dominated his schedule.

Paul’s chief e-bundler, music promoter Trevor Lyman, hopes to raise $2.5 million by day’s end with the campaign’s second online money bomb - though initial indications were that this latest fundraising move would fall well short of its target.

Of course, Romney can still buy the fourth quarter title by making a multimillion-dollar donation to himself, which is widely expected.

And it could be that Paul’s striking, eleventh-hour surge may have come too late to dramatically change the campaign dynamics.

Nevertheless, Paul’s staff is racing to put up more advertisements before the Christmas season shuts down campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire, where Paul threatens to peel away libertarian-minded independent voters sought by his rival John McCain, who is now less well-funded.

And Republicans find themselves asking an unexpected question: Could Ron Paul have a real impact on who the party nominates?

Paul’s last stand provides fresh evidence of how the Internet can transform a dark horse candidate and make him harder to knock off.

“It’s highly improbable that he will get into the first tier. But he’s colorful,â€