Paul’s money train steamrolls on

Insurgent White House hopeful Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) is on pace to shatter his own one-day GOP online fundraising record, taking in an eye-popping $3 million through the first 14 hours of Sunday, his campaign said.

{mosads}Paul, who raised $4.2 million in a single day in November, is poised to eclipse that total. He started the day with slightly less than $11.5 million raised in the fourth quarter, according to an aide. At 2:30 p.m., the contribution total on the campaign’s website said that the total was now $14.6 million and climbing steadily.

“Today’s fundraising boom is yet another example Dr. Paul’s tremendous grassroots support across America,” said Paul spokesman Jesse Benton.

While Paul is not considered to be among the frontrunners for the GOP presidential nomination, he is firmly entrenching himself in the top tier when it comes to raising funds. The latest haul might put the Texas lawmaker ahead of all of his rivals for the fourth quarter.

In the third quarter, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani had led the GOP field with $11 million raised.

Both Sunday’s fundraising effort and the Nov. 5 event that raised $4.2 million were grassroots efforts independent of the campaign that are supposed to highlight the revolutionary spirit of supporters. Nov. 5 event coincided with Guy Fawkes Day. The story of Fawkes, who was part of a group that tried to blow up the British Parliament on Nov. 5, 1605, was made popular in the U.S. in the 2006 blockbuster movie “V for Vendetta.”

Sunday’s event, known as Tea Party ’07 among supporters, was held on the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.