Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has turbocharged his efforts to raise funds for colleagues facing re-election, strengthening his hand for a possible run to succeed President Bush in 2008.

Aided by donors at Goldman Sachs Group Incorporated and hedge fund Elliott Management Corporation, Dr. Frist’s Volunteer Political Action Committee surged ahead of its rivals in the first six months of 2005 to become the biggest of more than 400 such committees. The PAC raises money to help other Republican lawmakers and enhance the Tennessee senator’s influence.

Dr. Frist’s technique: Give donors such as Elliott Management’s president, Paul Singer, a slate of other Republican candidates to back and route the donations through Volunteer PAC.

“It is a great way to build a strong base of support among other elected officials, and I would expect others to follow suit,” said Kenneth Gross, who advises clients on fund-raising at the Washington offices of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher and Flom LLP law firm. “I doubt he would be aggressively fund-raising in this fashion if he did not have an ambition for higher office.”

This year, Dr.Frist, 53, has directed at least $488,600 to his colleagues through his so-called leadership PAC, according to Federal Election Commission records. His committee was the fourth-biggest leadership PAC by receipts in 2004, according to Political-MoneyLine, a Washington-based company that tracks money in politics. It raised $1.92 million in the first six months of 2005, according to the group.

Leadership PACs are fund-raising organizations set up on behalf of a politician to give to other candidates. Donors can give up to $5,000 a year to such groups, compared with $2,100 an election for the campaign committees used to finance elections.

Employees of New York-based Goldman Sachs and Elliott Management have been the biggest participants in the earmarking program since 2003. Goldman employees have donated at least $190,000, and Elliott employees have given at least $94,000, according to FEC filings.

Mr. Singer gave $5,000 this year to Dr. Frist’s Volunteer PAC plus another five $2,000 donations to the PAC, which he earmarked for other Republican senators, for a total of $15,000.

Andrea Rachman, a spokeswoman for Goldman Sachs in New York, didn’t comment. A spokesman for Elliott Management declined to comment. Nick Smith, a spokesman for Dr. Frist’s Senate office, didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Lawmakers such as Dr. Frist, who was first elected in 1994, use leadership PACs to provide money to campaigns around the country. Yet unlike other leadership PACs, Dr. Frist is following a model established by interest groups such as the Republican supporting Club for Growth and the Democratic-leaning Emily’s List. They also redirect earmarked donations to favored candidates, multiplying receipts and cutting overhead costs.

This year’s main recipients of Dr. Frist’s funds include Republican senators Michael DeWine of Ohio, James Talent of Missouri, Jon Kyl of Arizona, Richard Santorum of Pennsylvania, Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island, and Conrad Burns of Montana, according to FEC records. All are up for re-election next year.

Dr. Frist has declined to say whether he’s seeking his party’s presidential nomination in 2008, although he says he’s not seeking re-election to the Senate and has made political trips to New Hampshire, which will hold the first presidential primary in 2008.