Talk about one degree of separation in Little Rhody: fundraising consultant Amy Gabarra -- who helped propel gubernatorial candidate Frank Caprio to his steady frontrunning fundraising totals -- has signed on to help raise campaign cash for the Congressional campaign of Bill Lynch, the brother of Caprio's Democratic primary rival, Patrick Lynch.

A day before he formally unveils his Republican challenge to US Representative Patrick J. Kennedy, John Loughlin is using Facebook to play up comparisons with Scott Brown's upset victory in Massachusetts. As Ted Nesi reports at Providence Business News:

Elizabeth Dennigan, Democratic challenger to US Representative James Langevin, has some news regarding her staffing and fundraising. She still has a long way to go to catch Langevin in the money race. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the incumbent, as of 12/31/09, had raised $540,000 in the 2009-2010 cycle, with $406,000 on hand.

A big increase in the House Finance chairman's war chest fuels thinking that he will become the third candidate in the Democratic field for treasurer, but Steven Costantino tells the ProJo's Steve Peoples that that's not necessarily so.

Costantino, who is considering a run for state treasurer, had $89,037.44 in his campaign account on Oct. 1 and $267,274.71 on Dec. 31, according to his filing with the state Board of Elections made public Thursday.

As expected, raising campaign cash hasn't proven a challenge for venture capitalist Gina Raimondo in her Democratic campaign for general treasurer:

State Representative Peter Kilmartin, who wasn't ready to talk specifics when we recently looked at campaign fundraising in the AG's race, now says he pulled in more than $65,000 during the last quarter of 2009 -- an amount that roughly ties him with one of his rivals, Joseph Fernandez.

The dominant role of money in politics can be traced to a single source: the use of paid television advertising to promote candidates, often to the detriment of rivals who have less money in their war chest. Critics believe that last week's US Supreme Court decision on campaign finance will only exacerbate the decision.

US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has harsh words for the US Supreme Court's decision to expand corporate campaign finance donations:

In a closely watched case with big implications for federal candidates, the US Supreme Court has expanded the influence of money in politics.

Via the AP:

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court has ruled that corporations may spend freely to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress, easing decades-old limits on their participation in federal campaigns.

State treasurer Frank Caprio -- thanks to his aggressive, frontrunning fundraising -- has been first out of the box with campaign advertising for next year's gubernatorial content. Caprio continues to ramp up his visibility, making appearances this week on A Lively Experiment and Newsmakers. And Caprio, who will appear next Wednesday, November 25, as part of Drinking Liberally's candidate series, has a chance to capitalize on the disappointment felt by some attendees after Lincoln Chafee's DL appearance last month.