And because they aren't taken seriously, they can't raise more cash. To be sure, an inability to attract donors can be as much a symptom of political weakness as a cause. A strong candidate usually finds a way to raise adequate funds. But each of these two started with two strikes against him. In addition, he's been hampered by the fact that Santorum, an incumbent once thought to be vulnerable, had a big campaign kitty in place before the race even started.
Franks confronts an even more difficult situation.
GOP donors figure that whatever they might give Franks would be more than matched by Corzine. So they've kept their checkbooks closed. Short of public financing, which has huge problems of its own, I'm afraid there is no silver bullet. A lot of politicians say the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill is the answer. But for candidates like Klink and Franks, it might only make matters worse.