Democratic candidates going into today’s seven-state contest face the daunting task of raising money to stay in the race, according to local political thinkers.

The candidates for the presidential nomination will square off in five primaries and two caucuses spanning seven states: Arizona, Oklahoma, Missouri, Delaware, North Dakota, South Carolina and New Mexico.

Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts appears to have emerged as the candidate with the most funding following his victories in Iowa and New Hampshire, political science professor Gary Glenn said.

“Whoever is the front-runner has the funding, [and] whoever has the funding is the front-runner,” Glenn said. Gathering campaign funds is crucial at this point in the race, he said.

Winning early primaries means a candidate garners attention from the public and draws more funds, Glenn said.

Some candidates are using the Internet to draw donations from people.

Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont has been using the Internet to gather small donations from people, said Eileen Dubin, chair of the Democratic party in DeKalb County. Dean failed to win both the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary.

Kerry also has used the Internet to gather money, according to USAtoday.com. Since his victory in New Hampshire on Jan. 27, Kerry has gathered $1.6 million from Internet donations.

Despite candidates’ efforts to reach voters, they can reach only so much of the electorate, Dubin said. The Internet potentially can make up for the limitations.

However, the nature of campaign funding may be a less democratic process than in other countries, Glenn said. Other countries, such as England, have much shorter election processes for elected officials.

With an extended election process, more money is needed make it from the initial primary all the way to the election day, Glenn said.