Can Money Buy Votes? . . . To the Polls!

Defense wins championships.

But electoral votes -- not money -- win elections.

Sure, money matters. But, as The Politico notes, the candidates with the most money early don't always win the grand prize. Just ask Phil Gramm in 1995. And John Edwards in 2003. Both were top money winners in the first quarter the year before the election. Neither won the nomination.

Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney are the top fundraisers in their respective parties now, but is all the dough translating into votes?

To the battleground state of Florida we go . . .

FLORIDA REPUBLICANS
Rudy Giuliani 35%
John McCain 15%
Newt Gingrich 11%
Fred Thompson 6%
Mitt Romney 5%

FLORIDA DEMOCRATS
Hillary Clinton 36%
Al Gore 16%
Barack Obama 13%
John Edwards 11%

And in California, it's Rudy and Hillary again.

CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS
Rudy Giuliani 43%
John McCain 24%
Newt Gingrich 10%
Mitt Romney 7%

CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS
Hillary Clinton 43%
Barack Obama 26%
John Edwards 17%

So what's the disconnect between Romney's low poll numbers but high donor totals? Who is giving him all the dough? We'll find out more about that when the reports are officially filed on April 15th.