It was reported before that Ron Paul raised $3 million, and there were some skeptics. They had reason to be skeptical. He actually raised $5 million:

Texas Congressman Ron Paul, an anti-war libertarian making his second run at the White House, will report having raised $5.08 million in the third quarter. The number, which rivals those of John McCain and Bill Richardson, was boosted thanks to last-minute online fundraising that brought in more than $1.2 million in the last week of the quarter alone.

Considering the way he spends his campaign funds, he’ll have that money for a while. Nothing wrong with that, either. It shows two things. His campaign is really grassroots, where his supporters are doing things to get the word out without money from the campaign. It also shows that Ron Paul is looking long term.

Whether Paul will be a major factor in the GOP nominating contests remains to be seen, but his money totals - it is likely he will have outraised several second-tier Republicans and Democrats combined - mean he will be in for the long haul.

If he were to spend a great deal of his limited resources now, he might have to leave later due to funding issues. Smart move. After all, this is a marathon folks, not a sprint. The primaries are still a long way off.