Conservatives from all around the country have been voicing their support for the conservative Marco Rubio over the more moderate Charlie Crist in Florida's Republican Senate primary, their ranks including Mike Huckabee and Jim DeMint. So why, then, is Crist outraising Rubio by close to a 9-to-1 margin?

Marco Rubio announced he raised about $340,000 in the second fundraising quarter, a total that ensures he begins the Senate primary at a significant financial disadvantage against Gov. Charlie Crist.

Crist's campaign told the Orlando Sentinel this week that it expects to raise about $3 million.. The likely Democratic nominee, Kendrick Meek, announced he raised $1.2 million for the quarter - nearly four times more than Rubio.

Rubio's $340,000 is only a drop in the pan in Florida, one of the most expensive states in which to run a statewide campaign. But even more problematic for Rubio is the fact that this is the number he pulled in despite being the darling of the right. For a candidate presumed to be supported by conservatives all around the country in what has been deemed to be by some in the conservative leadership to be the primary campaign of 2010, determining whether the party retrenches or moderates, to only bring in a few hundred thousand dollars is remarkably underwhelming. Perhaps this will spur more money to come into his campaign by lighting a fire under conservatives nationwide put off by the possibility of Florida's Senate seat moving to the left by replacing Mel Martinez with either Charlie Crist or Kendrick Meek. But for now, conservatives appear to be flexing their muscles to little avail.