Will Pennsylvania Win Fill Clinton Purse?

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Clinton's fund-raisers have also been revving up their Internet efforts and trying to turn up more small donors. They're contacting many of the tens of thousands of supporters who attended events or gave their e-mail addresses at events in earlier primary states such as Texas or Ohio, for example, and trying to tap them for donations. "We're constantly trying to reach out to those supporters and get them to contribute, even if it's only $10, $20, or $100," Nemazee says. And to turn up the heat on donations, Clinton is turning on the charm: Whereas in the past she would get on the phone and participate in conference calls only with donors who'd given $25,000 or more, now anyone who has given $100 or more is invited onto the squawk with the senator.

Needs $20 Million a Month

While those efforts seem to be succeeding, Krumholz says the question is how sustainable they are, particularly in comparison with Obama's strong Web fund-raising machine. "He's been successful over so many more months, and with many more donors, in this arena," she says. Another key issue is whether they can keep up the pace. "She's going to need to keep spending at a clip of $20 million a month," says Tad Devine, a Democratic strategist unallied with either candidate. "That's not an easy amount to raise."

Donors will have to assess whether the win gives Clinton enough momentum to have a realistic chance of winning the nomination, given the difficult math she still faces. Clinton remains behind in both the popular vote count and the delegate count, and many believe she has only a slim chance of convincing enough superdelegates to back her.

"People are reluctant to throw money at a losing campaign, which we've clearly seen in the funding numbers in the last few weeks," says Greg Valliere, the chief political analyst for the Washington investment research firm Stanford Group. "But if people come out of Pennsylvania concluding she still has a shot, then they'll continue to see it as money well spent."

Nemazee says that, for now, the threat of being seen as a loser has not materialized. "Conventional wisdom would tell you that if people were throwing in the towel and thought we had no chance to win, they wouldn't go out of their way to keep raising money for us," he says. "But we are clearly able to find people who think we can win."

Sasseen is Washington bureau chief for BusinessWeek.