ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - As races fill out with candidates for Georgia’s gubernatorial and Congressional races, candidates are beginning to disclose their fundraising totals – a telling sign that can often be a barometer for their support in the state.

Thanks to a $10 million self-loan, Lt. Governor Burt Jones leads the thin pack of Republican gubernatorial candidates with a reported $14 million in his coffers. Trailing behind is Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, who has raised $3.5 million since becoming the first GOP candidate — and first candidate period — to enter the race back in November.

On the Democratic side of the race for governor, both state Sen. Jason Esteves and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms have netted just north of $1.1 million in funds raised.

Atlanta News First did not hear back from the other two Democratic gubernatorial candidates, pastor Olu Brown and state Rep. Derrick Jackson.

“Money is described as the ‘mother’s milk’ of politics,” said Ben Taylor, a political science professor with Kennesaw State University. “You can’t run any campaign, whether you’re running for dog catcher or president of the United States, unless you have the campaign funds to buy signs, find office space, get out the vote efforts, door knocking, buying campaign literature. And that’s just the bare bones.”

Congressional races, and for that matter, gubernatorial campaigns, can stretch into the multi-millions during election cycles. Taylor said the arms-race for fundraising dollars before the official start of an election cycle is known as the “invisible primary” and can determine how much grassroots or institutional support a candidate has.

“This invisible primary is very important for positioning oneself as the frontrunner going into election season,” he said. “That’s a signal to other would-be candidates and other donors that, ‘Hey, I’m very serious about this, and I’m going to, literally, put my money where my mouth is.”

Candidates often start the process of fundraising before they officially enter a race. Take, as an example, Georgia Congressman Mike Collins, a Republican who hinted in an online video Tuesday that he may run to unseat Democratic Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff.

“You know me, I’m going to shoot it straight, that’s the way I’ve always been. It was never in my plans to run for the U.S. Senate,” said Collins, directly addressing the camera. “I also understand that sometimes you don’t do what you want to do, but what you need to do.”

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The video was swiftly followed up by an email blast from Collins’ office asking for donations. It could be a strong breadcrumb that Collins is testing the waters in a run for higher office.

In the U.S., campaign donations are tracked and only U.S. citizens can make contributions to political candidates or campaigns.

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