HARRISBURG -- If you think things are bad for Democrats in Washington right now, how about here in the state capital?

Since the beginning of the year, according to campaign finance reports filed yesterday, Peg Luksik, a third-party candidate, has nearly kept pace in the fund-raising department with State Rep. Ivan Itkin, the Democratic nominee, in this year's race for governor.

Luksik, the Constitutional Party candidate who officially entered the race in August -- and filed her first campaign finance report yesterday -- raised $329,263 since Jan. 1, which is only slightly behind Itkin's $356,013.

Luksik also has spent almost as much as Itkin. She has spent $337,128 this year, while Itkin has spent $386,507.

Meanwhile, Gov. Ridge, the Republican incumbent, continued to practice his fund-raising craft at a different level. The report his campaign filed yesterday showed Ridge raising more than $1.9 million just during the most recent filing period, which ran from June 9 through Sept. 14. Ridge -- who has begun pouring campaign money into TV advertising -- still has more than $4.6 million in the bank with six weeks to go before the Nov. 3 election. Itkin, on the other hand, raised just $158,531 during the summer months and spent $105,737 -- compared with the nearly $2.4 million spent by Ridge.

Itkin, on the other hand, raised just $158,531 during the summer months and spent $105,737 -- compared with the nearly $2.4 million spent by Ridge.

An Itkin aide said it was time for top Democratic donors to "step up" and help the campaign. And in a state where registered Democrats substantially outnumber Republicans, leading political experts said they were stunned that Luksik's fund-raising nearly matched Itkin's.

"I have never heard of a third-party candidate in this state raising more money than one of the major-party candidates," said Morton Coleman, director of the Institute of Politics at the University of Pittsburgh.

Coleman, as well as G. Terry Madonna, who has followed the governor's race from the Center for Politics and Public Policy at Millersville University, said Itkin was suffering badly from the lack of interest in his campaign among traditional Democratic -- at least a handful of whom have said they are supporting Ridge's reelection.

"When people think you're a loser, and that's the impression, it's hard to raise money," Coleman said.

Said Madonna: "The big money-raising people in the Democratic Party are staying out of the race. They don't want to anger Ridge . . . or they just simply think Ivan Itkin is not the candidate of choice."

The party watchers also noted that some Democratic givers were donating to targeted state legislative races rather than to Itkin's campaign, believing the best chance to break the Republican stranglehold on Harrisburg was in the House of Representatives, where a shift of three seats could give Democrats the majority.

Itkin campaign manager Marc Weinstein said he was not discouraged by Itkin's fund-raising or that Luksik, a third-party candidate who opposes abortion and embraces conservative causes, was keeping pace with him.

"No, it doesn't bother us," he said. "Her core supporters are passionate people. No one believes she can win. They are true believers."

Luksik has just $5,052 in cash on hand, as the campaign enters its final phase, while Itkin shows $57,148. Unlike Ridge, neither will be able to mount much of a television advertising campaign without a substantial infusion of cash.

Since January, when the governor began his reelection effort with more than $5 million in the bank, Ridge has raised more than $4.9 million and spent more than $5.3 million, much of it on TV ads addressing issues ranging from education to crime.