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New Hampshire Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes believes he will break the Granite State's record for in-state fundraising this cycle, despite the enthusiasm gap in favor of Republicans.

"New Hampshire is different from a lot of the rest of the country," Hodes said in an interview with RealClearPolitics. He added, "There has been a pretty strong Democratic move in the state over the last few years." For that reason, Hodes said he's been spending time culling support and donations from the grassroots while the four-way Republican primary has gotten the bulk of the attention in state politics so far this year.

But for Hodes, who trails the leading Republican candidate, former Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, in the polls, the challenge over the next two months is getting enough attention to overtake the GOP nominee after the Sept. 14 primary.

Through the end of June, Hodes had raised $3.7 million for his campaign and banked $1.7 million, leading state Republicans to castigate the candidate for what they say is an "astronomical burn rate."

His campaign already sank money into two negative TV spots designed to taint Ayotte for her record but changed course this week with a light biographical ad featuring Hodes' wife, Peggo.

Hodes said his strategy is working. "We're moving in the right direction," he said, noting that polls show he has cut Ayotte's lead in half. According to independent polling, he's right.

At the beginning of the year, the WMUR/University of New Hampshire survey showed Ayotte leading Hodes by eight points, 41 percent to 33 percent. The same poll showed Ayotte's lead had grown to 15 percent in mid-April, but the most recent WMUR/UNH poll in late July put Ayotte's lead back to eight points, 45 percent to 37 percent.

Since the latest poll's release, the GOP primary has gotten nasty and personal. Ayotte's top challenger, the self-funding Bill Binnie, sparked criticism from state Republican chairman John H. Sununu. Republican operatives in the state say that the primary battle is far from over, and Binnie may yet be able to topple the front-runner.

Republicans say it doesn't matter if Binnie winds up as the nominee over Ayotte, because they believe Hodes is a weak candidate. After he cast his final vote in favor of health care reform, he called the legislation a "jobs bill," which made Republican strategists incredulous. He stands by the claim and has embraced the bill's passage.

In an interview this week, Hodes said, "I have seen most of the heat around the health care vote dissipate." Hodes has been spending his August traveling the state for his "Wake Up, Washington" tour and said that in the handful of events he's had so far, he's only gotten about two questions on the issue.

New Hampshire GOP spokesman Ryan Williams did not dispute that intrigue over health care has waned, but he noted that Hodes no longer talks about the public option, which he had previously embraced. And he said Hodes' vote in favor of the reforms is one of many that will allow the party to tie him to the Democratic establishment. "He doesn't have an independent bone in his body," Williams said.

Despite Hodes' claims about the recent Democratic tilt in the state, he's already preparing for the Republican playbook and the knocks on his independence. He sneaks this message into his new positive ad: "As an independent voice for New Hampshire, I've made both parties mad: I voted against the Wall Street bailouts, congressional pay raises and tax breaks for shipping jobs overseas."

Nevertheless, he has no illusions about the difficulty he faces this cycle. "I'm the challenger for a seat that's been held by a Republican for 18 years. This is an uphill fight, and that's where I'm comfortable," he said.