COLUMBIA, S.C. - After starting from scratch last summer, the South Carolina Democratic Party said Wednesday it has raised more money than needed to pay for the state's first-in-the-South presidential primary Feb. 3.

The party has raised $623,000 since August - far ahead of the estimated $500,000 needed to pay for the contest, Chairman Joe Erwin said.

Erwin said the money would pay for the extra staff hired for the primary, consultants, renting space and printing the paper ballots. "It's coming in as it's going out," he said.

Party officials had been tightlipped about the amount in the state party's soft money account amid rumors doubting the party would be able to stage the critical primary because it had to start from scratch to raise the money.

South Carolina and Utah are the only states where the Democratic Party, rather than the state government, must foot the bill for presidential primaries in 2004.

"We're on budget," he said. "I don't think we'll spend it all on the primary." Erwin wants excess money raised for the primary because it can be used by the party for other state campaigns later this year.

The party doesn't have to disclose how much soft money it raises, where it comes from or how it is spending that cash for the primary.

But Erwin said more than half of the contributions came from people who gave less than $100. That, Erwin said, is a sign that the party is recovering its broad base after losing national and statewide races to Republicans in 2002.

State Republican Chairman Katon Dawson doubts his state rivals have enough resources to pull off the national event. "We probably spent more than that," Dawson said about the GOP's 2000 primary. "I sometimes question the validity of (the Democrats') numbers."

Erwin, an advertising executive, backed off the idea of corporate logos on ballots, but said businesses, which wanted to remain anonymous, made donations to the party.

Candidates vying for the White House also have helped the party, Erwin said. Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt and retired Gen. Wesley Clark have bought access to the party's database of demographics, voting history and contact information for $35,000 each.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a union that has endorsed former Gov. Howard Dean, also bought the voter list.

Kerry's campaign also has donated $20,000 to the state party and made donations at the county level, said Kerry spokesman Michael Meehan.

North Carolina John Edwards' campaign has helped raise funds for county offices, said John Moylan III, Edwards state campaign co-chairman.

"I made it clear to them I think South Carolina is so critical to the nomination that I really believe, and I believe it sincerely, that they are wise to invest here," Erwin said.

Erwin said he also has set aside money to fight any legal challenges, though he doesn't expect to spend it. In 2000, Democrats sued Republicans to open all of the state's polling sites in the GOP primary.

"Really what they did was try to spend our money and they did," said Dawson, who estimated his party spent more than $100,000 on legal fees.

Democrats sent a plan to the U.S. Justice Department promising to open all 1,956 precincts in the state's 46 counties.

More than 5,000 volunteers also have signed up to run polling sites, but the party wants more to overlap, said Carol Khare, vice chairwoman of the state party and co-chair of the Democratic National Committee's rules committee.

"It's harder to cover rural areas," Khare said. But "we have people who are willing to go from one place or another."

Erwin remains undecided about an offer from the Iowa Democratic Party to loan its staff and computer software to help tally the paper ballots in South Carolina.

The party paid about $20,000 to print 1 million ballots, though Erwin expects less than 300,000 voters to turn out.