ATHENS, Ga. --- U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, R-Athens, boosted his fundraising efforts in late 2007, but still is far behind state Rep. Barry Fleming, R-Harlem.

Mr. Fleming, who is challenging Mr. Broun in the July primary, still is outpacing Mr. Broun, but by a much smaller margin than earlier last year. Mr. Fleming raised $290,000 in the third quarter of 2007 to Mr. Broun's $208,000, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.

In contrast to his 2007 campaign and the early months of his first term, Mr. Broun's list of contributors includes Georgia and Washington, D.C., corporate and political heavyweights such as Coca-Cola, the National Rifle Association and U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Savannah. They are betting on Mr. Broun to win a second term, Mr. Broun spokesman Tim Echols said.

The Broun campaign made a mistake by not immediately beginning to raise money after his July election, but rectified the problem by hiring a finance director and holding more fundraisers, Mr. Echols said.

Current and former state lawmakers, however, continue to support Mr. Fleming. About 50, including House Speaker Glenn Richardson and state Rep. Terry England, R-Winder, contributed to his campaign.

"You look around and you see almost wholesale support from the chamber he's served in for three terms now," Mr. Fleming's campaign manager Cam Kirbo said. "That speaks highly of the candidate."

Mr. Fleming has four times as much cash on hand as Mr. Broun, $488,000 to $125,000. Mr. Broun also spent about $280,000 of his own money on last year's campaign, most of which still is listed as debt.