U.S. Senator John Cornyn heads into his fall re-election campaign with about ten times as much campaign cash as his Democratic opponent, State Rep. Rick Noriega, D-Houston.

Cornyn posted about $9.4 million in cash-on-hand to Noriega's $915,500.

"I think that's a lot of money," said Ben Lawful, UT student.

But what sounds like a lot of money doesn't get very far in a Texas-wide campaign, where running a week's worth of statewide television ads can cost about $1 million.

"The problem is it's not enough to run a successful campaign here in Texas," said Hans Klingler, the Texas Republican Party's political director.

Klingler calls Noriega's fundraising take "underwhelming" and says it's a sign of Noriega's weakness as a candidate.

"It says to [donors] that this individual doesn't have a message, doesn't have a vision. And when you don't have a message or a vision the donors don't take notice," said Klingler.

Democrats counter that in their takeover of six U.S. Senate seats in 2006, every Democrat candidate was outspent by the Republicans.

"This isn't a race where we're gonna win by raising more money than an incumbent like John Cornyn. It just ain't gonna happen," said Markos Moulitsas, the founder of progressive blog Daily Kos.

He says the fundamentals of this election year tilt toward democratic candidates.

"If you oust an incumbent it's gonna be because people aren't that happy with the incumbent, aren't happy with the direction of the country, and want change," he said. "And clearly if nothing else, we know that this year, people want change."