Though the election is less than two weeks away, incumbent Sen. Susan Collins and challenger Chellie Pingree continue to pull in campaign contributions at a record pace.

While Republican Collins has an $800,000 lead in total contributions over Pingree, Pingree actually bested Collins in the amount of money contributed to her campaign in the last three-month filing period. Pingree raised $52,385 more than Collins during the last quarter.

But in the all-important cash-on-hand category, Collins has five times more than Pingree as the race enters the final days. Money for television advertising becomes crucial during that period as candidates push to get their message out.

Combined, Collins and Pingree have raised $7 million, making the contest far and away the most expensive political race in Maine history.

According to information filed by both campaigns on Oct. 15 for the Federal Election Commission’s July 1 to Sept. 30 reporting period, Collins had raised a total of $3.9 million while Pingree had topped the $3.1 million mark.

Of the $3.9 million Collins collected to date, she still had $1,660,188 on hand as the campaign entered its final days.

“We are grateful for this strong show of support,” said Collins campaign treasurer Leo Loiselle. “Senator Collins has run a positive, issues-oriented campaign and we are confident that she will have the resources she needs going into the home stretch.”

Of the $3.1 million Pingree raised, she had just $293,985 on hand at the end of the reporting period. That figure is about one-fifth of her opponent’s war chest.

As for funds raised from July 1 to Sept. 30, including interest and dividends, Pingree collected $856,528 and Collins reported raising $804,143.

Of Pingree’s $856,528 in contributions, the report stated that $782,228 was donated by individuals, $68,800 by political action committees and $5,500 by party committees.

Of Collins’ $804,143, the report for the same period indicated that $509,011 came from individuals while $229,275 came from political action committees.

“Chellie Pingree continues to have incredible support here in Maine – repeatedly outraising an incumbent senator and counting more than 11,000 individuals among her supporters,” said Deborah Barron, a Pingree spokeswoman. “The numbers clearly show that Chellie has the support of average Mainers …”

Campaign donors are attracted to winners, and a candidate’s ability to attract cash is predicated on the prospects of victory. The way the money is pouring in for their campaigns, it appears that supporters of Pingree and Collins believe each candidate stands a good chance of winning.

Although Collins appears to have a comfortable lead in the polls at this point, elections are volatile things. Especially in a year when the normal election process has been turned upside down by the threat of war, according to David B. Magleby, director of the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

In an interview conducted earlier this month, Magleby noted that this year’s election was far different from any in the recent past.

Magleby said issues that normally would strike a chord with voters, such as the economy, the plunging stock market, job losses, health care and Social Security, have yet to register with a populace that seems focused on the clouds of war.

“It’s really an odd year with the threat of war and the talk of war. It’s hard to know which issues are tracking with the voters,” Magleby said. “What makes it hard is whether in the end these issues are going to move voters or not. The whole senior citizen issue is going to be important, but right now the voters are almost frozen on this war-and-peace issue.”

Money plays a critical role in close elections and Magleby noted that both major parties base their allocation decisions on research and polling. He said that if the research shows that Maine voters are moving toward traditional issues, campaign money will continue to come rolling in.

“If they come, they will come in a big way, and that can quickly change the dynamic,” he said. “Whether or not it comes to that race will be if it’s determined it is a movable race. If not, they’re going to spend it in New Hampshire.”