Hillary Clinton is leading the pack when it comes to presidential fundraising in Silicon Valley, a sign that her regular valley stops over the past two months are paying off.

The New York senator's chief rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who has held just one valley fundraiser in the past three months, is not far behind.

On the Republican side, former venture capitalist Mitt Romney has raised more than all of his GOP opponents combined, helped by friend and former colleague, eBay's Meg Whitman.

A MediaNews analysis of federal elections data tallied by PoliticalMoneyLine, a non-partisan Web site, found Clinton raised $703,500 here between Jan. 1 and March 31. In comparison, Obama collected $591,948 during the same period and John Edwards ended the closely watched quarter with $193,469.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, collected $474,125 from valley addresses, compared to $120,701 for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and $91,300 for John McCain.

The first-quarter filings may only be seen as a snapshot, but they are believed to be an important sign of strength.

This week's campaign finance reports underscore that valley residents intend to play key financial supporting roles. And, while it is not uncommon this early in presidential contests, several affluent contributors have given to more than one candidate, even crossing party lines.

Over the past decade, Silicon Valley's role in

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the money game has grown as the region prospered. Former President Clinton sought valley support for his first run in 1992 and his subsequent reelection with little competition.

By 2000, President George W. Bush found strong financial backing, as did Democrat Al Gore.

For this tally, MediaNews counted contributions to the top three Democrats and Republicans, as measured by fundraising, from residents of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. The survey counts contributions of $200 or more, the level at which federal authorities require disclosure.

California's decision to move its primary to Feb. 5, 2008 also has accelerated the arrival of a long list of presidential contestants, who hopscotch from high-tech boardrooms to living-room fundraisers. The payoffs can be good, the analysis shows.

The six top candidates raised a total of $2.2 million, with the Democrats scooping up $1.49 million of the aggregate. GOP supporters of Giuliani and McCain, both of whom trailed in valley fundraising, say they are just getting organized, and expect to pick up their pace. McCain didn't hold a valley fundraiser during the first quarter, but is planning one next month, hosted by Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers.

Speculation had swirled that Clinton would have a hard time duplicating the success that her husband had in wooing valley support during his eight years in office, and the former first lady attended several fundraisers in February and March, in addition to a stop at Google last month.

"Senator Clinton has certainly made an effort to reach out to the community and we're delighted that her message is so well received," said campaign spokesman Blake Zeff.

Obama, too, has generated excitement. He drew thousands to a rally in Oakland last month, followed by a major San Francisco fundraiser that included valley leaders.

Obama has raised significant sums from valley residents, after holding just one late-night gathering in February, John Roos, CEO of the Palo Alto law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati pointed out. "We expect him to make huge inroads," said Roos, co-chair of Obama's state finance team.

Romney's campaign too was pleased with its take, much of it collected at a March fundraiser chaired by eBay's Whitman. Campaign spokeswoman Sarah Pompei said voters here want a leader who can "address the new generation of challenges that face our nation."

And more than a few top contributors also apparently are having a hard time making up their minds, contributing to two — sometimes even three — different presidential campaigns.

Laurene Powell Jobs, wife of Apple's Steve Jobs, was a lead fundraiser for a Clinton event in March, and she also gave money to both Obama and Edwards.

John Thompson, CEO of Symantec, has helped Clinton and Obama.

Venture capitalist Tim Draper is backing Giuliani, but has given money to Romney.

Then there is Vinod Khosla, the venture capitalist. He has contributed to Clinton, Obama and McCain.

"Nobody knows who is going to be in contention when February rolls around. Mostly, it's praying to Jesus, Allah and Yahweh," quipped Phil Trounstine, director of the Survey and Policy Research Institute at San Jose University."And if two out of three don't make it, you're OK."

Contact Mary Anne Ostrom at mostrom(at)mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5574