Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., raised more money from South Carolina donors during the past three months than his eight presidential primary opponents combined, Federal Election Commission reports show.

Dollars don't mean votes in the state's first-in-the-South primary, but they do provide a sense of candidates' organizational strength and ability to get the money needed to fuel their campaigns.

"The ability to raise money is like the ability to get votes," Clemson University political science professor Doug Woodard said. "It shows people believe in you."

Edwards, an attorney and Seneca native who moved to North Carolina with his family when he was young, raised $37,450 of his $79,192 second-quarter total from lawyers in South Carolina.

Nationally, Edwards raised the same 47 percent of his donations from within his profession. "Trial lawyers have traditionally been strong Democratic supporters," said Jennifer Palmieri, a spokeswoman for Edwards. "When you are raising money, you go to your friends first."

Since January, South Carolinians have given $228,392 to Edwards' campaign, more than twice the itemized individual donations shown by the other eight campaigns combined, FEC filings show. Campaigns also collect smaller donations they don't immediately have to itemize.

"The challenge for Senator Edwards is to show, as a first-term senator, that he can build a national network ‘.‘.‘. not just based on a single constituency or single region, but one that's far-reaching," said Jano Cabrera, spokesman for another Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Joe Lieberman, of Connecticut.

But Edwards, who was set to open his South Carolina headquarters Tuesday, is demonstrating he can raise money in key early primary states, Palmieri said. He led fund-raising efforts in seven of 12 early primary states, she said.

Edwards "has an awful lot at stake in South Carolina," Woodard said. He'll have to do well in Iowa and New Hampshire and win South Carolina's Feb. 3 primary in order to be competitive in the rest of the race, Woodard said.

Lieberman raised $22,400 from South Carolinians during the quarter, second to Edwards. "We intend to build on that support in the months to come," Cabrera said.

Since January, Lieberman has raised $32,900 from South Carolina donors, putting him in a near tie with the $32,100 former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean brought in so far this year. Dean raised $15,375 in individual itemized contributions during the past three months.

The rest of the field was far behind in the quarter. Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt raised $8,550; ex-U.S. Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, $5,755; Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, $4,900; and the Rev. Al Sharpton, $1,359.

Sen. Bob Graham, of Florida, and Rep. Dennis Kucinich, of Ohio, reported no South Carolina individual itemized donations during the quarter.

Nationally, Kerry leads the money race, raising $13 million for his campaign. He's followed by Edwards, who's raised $11.9 million; Dean, $10.1 million; Lieberman, $8.1 million; Gephardt, $7.4 million; Graham, $3.1 million; Kucinich, $1.7 million; Sharpton, $1.4 million; and Moseley Braun, $214,108.

The Democratic nominee will face President Bush, who has raised $34.4 million since the kickoff of his re-election efforts in May. In South Carolina, Bush pulled down about $103,000 during the second quarter.

Kerry's campaign has raised $11,150 since January in South Carolina. State Rep. James Smith, D-Richland, who is helping organize Kerry's efforts in South Carolina, said the senator has priorities other than raising money here.

"It's a concerted effort to not raise money in South Carolina right now," Smith said. Kerry wants to spend more time in the state developing contacts and meeting people at free events before starting a fund-raising drive, Smith said.