By Alex Knott, CQ Staff

Former Rep. Martin T. Meehan left Congress to become chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. But if the Democrat was still running for re-election this year, he would have more campaign money available than any other House member or candidate.

With more than $4.8 million still in his old campaign fund, Meehan is way ahead of active candidates. Rep. Ron Paul , R-Texas, leads active House candidates with $4 million in his war chest, followed by Rep. Frank Pallone Jr, D-N.J., who has $3.4 million in the bank.

Meehan, who gained national recognition in Congress as a primary sponsor of the current campaign finance law (PL 110-81), has left his election fund open since resigning from Congress in July 2007 to take the chancellor’s post. Except for $276,000 in campaign contributions made to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and 20 Democratic candidates, the money has remained largely untouched.

Other retired lawmakers have used their campaign accounts to make donations in preparation for accepting political jobs, sometimes as lobbyists on K Street. But Meehan holds quite a large amount for someone in academia. Still, once a politician, always a politician. His name still pops up among many as a possible future candidate for governor or the U.S. Senate.