Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush, who has raised three times as much money as the Democrats' Howard Dean for the 2004 election, can probably increase his fund-raising lead thanks to a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a 5-4 decision, the high court upheld a law banning rich contributors from giving unlimited amounts of unregulated ``soft money'' to political parties. The justices also left intact the law's doubling of the amount of money individuals can donate for each election to $2,000. The provisions give Bush and the Republican Party, with a network of thousands of donors from companies such as Merrill Lynch & Co. and UBS AG, an advantage over the Democratic Party, which counts on fewer rich donors.

``The immediate beneficiaries are the Republicans with their huge `hard-money' edge, plus the record-breaking fund raising of the Bush campaign,'' said John Green, a professor of political science at the University of Akron in Ohio. ``Simply put, the Democrats need soft money more than the Republicans.''

Since the new campaign finance law went into effect a year ago, the Republican National Committee has raised 140 percent more money than its Democratic Party equivalent, gathering $86.2 million in the first 10 months of this year. For the 2000 election, the Republicans raised 47 percent more than the Democratic National Committee, according to disclosure forms.

Bigger Checks

Republicans have benefited from the new $2,000 limit on individual contributions to candidates, and a $25,000 limit to political parties. More Republicans are writing bigger checks than are Democrats. Bush reported 29,806 people gave at least $2,000 to his campaign through Sept. 30, giving him three- quarters of the $84.6 million he raised.

In contrast, former Vermont Governor Dean, the leading Democratic fund-raiser, got the maximum donation from 1,553 people, totaling 13 percent of the $25.4 million he received through September, according to figures from the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that tracks campaign contributions.

Bush has gotten help from executives such as Merrill Lynch Chairman Stanley O'Neal and UBS Financial Services Inc. Chairman Joseph Grano, who each persuaded at least 99 other people to donate to Bush, making their contribution to the campaign over $200,000 and qualifying them as ``Rangers'' -- Bush's club of top donors.

The employees of Merrill Lynch gave more to Bush than any other company through September, donating $368,200. UBS was in second place, giving $269,000, the center reported.

New Types of Funding

Democrats have tried to bridge the Republicans' success at raising federally reported ``hard'' dollars by forming groups such as America Coming Together, which can accept unlimited donations because it doesn't coordinate its activities with the national party. The group, financed by matching $10 million gifts by billionaires George Soros and Progressive Corp. chairman Peter Lewis, seeks to mobilize voters against Bush.

Republicans are now countering Soros' backing of so-called 527 groups -- named after a provision in the tax code which they fall under -- by setting up their own similar groups. Last month Republican strategists George Terwilliger, Frank Donatelli and Craig Shirley formed Americans for a Better Country, which supports Bush's re-election.

There are many wealthy donors ``that care very, very deeply about the conservative cause,'' Donatelli said in an interview. ``We make no bones about the fact that we would like to see President Bush re-elected.''

Donatelli's group and other's such as the Club for Growth are working to eliminate the Democrat's edge in money from 527 groups. Democrats raised $185 million -- more than twice as much as Republicans -- from such groups in the 2002 Congressional elections, according to the Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan group.

Unions are the Democrats' biggest soft-money supporters, with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees giving $37.8 million in the past three years. Labor groups also contribute aid that doesn't show up on financial tallies, such as telephone banks and letters to members.

Democrats say they've improved their fund raising and supported the Supreme Court decision to uphold the campaign finance law.

``Today's decision could have spelled disaster for Democrats, but we have prepared for this day by creating an effective and competitive fund-raising system,'' Tony Welch, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee said in an e- mailed statement. ``Democrats will not miss a beat in our 2004 campaigns.''

Last Updated: December 10, 2003 16:38 EST