The Institute for Southern Studies reports:

The presidential money race is well under way, and moving faster than ever. According to campaign finance data released July 15, White House hopefuls are smashing all fundraising records, collecting over $265 million in contributions in the first six months of 2007 alone. But what role is the South – one of the country’s fastest-growing regions, and home to 31% of the Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency – playing in the 2008 fundraising derby?

A new analysis of campaign records by the Institute finds that the five top fundraising campaigns in each party have collected over $45 million from 13 Southern states.

It’s a staggering sum – but only 16% of the national total, revealing the South’s campaign contributions have yet to catch up with the region’s electoral clout.

Institute analysis reveals an interesting picture of who is – and who isn’t – getting Dixie’s dollars:

* Two New York-based politicians have raked in the most campaign contributions from Southern states: Democrat Sen. Hillary Clinton ($8.6 million) and Republican ex-mayor Rudy Giuliani ($7.3 million) top the list of 2008 presidential hopefuls in money coming from the South.

* Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards – the leading Southerner in the race so far – has received the biggest share of his contributions from the region. Nearly a third (31%) of Edwards’ $23 million war chest has come from the South, making him the only candidate whose fundraising draw matches the region’s electoral significance.

* All other candidates getting 20% or more of their contributions from Southern states are Republicans: Rep. Ron Paul of Texas (22%), Giuliani and Sen. John McCain.

* Those getting the lowest percentage of their campaign funds from the South are Sens. Barack Obama (12%), Christopher Dodd (8%) and Sam Brownback (8%) – a surprising result for Brownback, who has positioned himself as a voice for Christian conservatives, a strong political bloc in the South.

* Florida – with its 27 Electoral College votes and position as one of the first two Southern states to hold a primary in 2008 – has been a top fundraising target for both parties. Sen. Clinton’s $3.4 million raised in the Sunshine State puts her far ahead of the pack, followed by Obama, Giuliani and Romney ($1.9 million each) and McCain ($1.4 million).

* South Carolina – the other early primary state in the South – is more intriguing: Republican hopefuls McCain, Romney and Giuliani have all collected over $200,000 from the Palmetto State. This stands in stark contrast to Democrats, where only S.C. native John Edwards has raised that much. Obama ranks fifth in the 2008 field with $187,000 from South Carolina, and Sen. Clinton has attracted only $76,000 in contributions from the state.

The study draws on campaign finance records submitted by five Democratic and five Republican campaigns that reported raising the most in the first and second quarters of 2007. The Institute looked at contributions from 13 Southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

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In related news, the DC newspaper The Hill reports that the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and John Edwards are not focused on SC as much as on other early primary states, at least in terms of staff funding.