Although President Bush has raised more money than John Kerry--$218 million to $149 million, according to the FEC filings in May--there's a good chance Democrats trying to defeat him will outspend Republicans trying to re-elect him.

* Although President Bush has raised more money than John Kerry--$218 million to $149 million, according to the FEC filings in May--there's a good chance Democrats trying to defeat him will outspend Republicans trying to re-elect him. That's because Democrats hold such a huge advantage among the 527s, independent groups named after a section of the tax code. Unlike the parties, the 527s face few restrictions on their funding. Under the new campaign-finance regime, they've assumed many of the roles traditionally performed by the parties, from paying for campaign ads to getting out the vote. The Democrats were quick to exploit this opportunity and began raising money last year. So far, they've collected nearly $70 million. Much of this cash has bankrolled a series of ads trashing Bush, allowing Kerry to spend his own money on upbeat biographical ads. (Did you know that the senator served in Vietnam?) Rather than creating their own network of 527s, Republicans opted to question their legality--and suffered a serious blow in May when the FEC rightly decided not to regulate them. They've been playing catch-up ever since, and not very well. The most successful GOP group, Progress for America, raised a little more than $2 million in the second quarter of this year. The leading Democratic groups, the Media Fund and America Coming Together, raked in a combined $20 million. If Kerry triumphs in November, this will be a reason.