A report just released by the National Institute on Money in State Politics points to the relatively small percentage of unitemized donations, or small dollar donations, that comprise state-level campaign war chests. In fact the number seems to be getting smaller. All talks of the pending small donor revolution aside, Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) recent success may still be the exception rather than the rule.

A guest colum follow after the jump from Professor Jay Mandle, of Democracy Matters, on the issue of a "small donor democracy" and recent debate around small donors in the context of the presidential race.

Big donors--those giving $1,000 or more--still account for the bulk of money collected by frontrunner presidential candidates, according to an analysis hot off the press from the Campaign Finance Institute (CFI).

While the official reports aren't due at the Federal Election Commission until October 15, candidates are bragging already about the big bucks they are raking in. Hillary Clinton raised $27 million, all but $5 million of it for her primary race. Obama raised $20 million. Congressional candidates are also starting to talk big about their fundraising prowess, as if this is the main thing that matters when running a political race.

The hot campaign news these days is all about small donors recharging the political landscape, and is sure to be part of the story when candidates file their third quarter reports in mid-October. Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) already got headlines for breaking records by raising nearly a third of his contributions from donors giving $200 or less.

But make no mistake about it: big donors still dominate.