Sewing up the Republican presidential nomination while the Democratic candidates continue to battle each other has given Senator John McCain a valuable commodity: time he can use to unite a fractured Republican Party, ramp up his lackluster fund-raising and transform his shoestring primary operation into a general election machine.

The lull will give the McCain campaign some breathing room, but it could have drawbacks as well. Even Mr. McCain acknowledges that the tight, fierce Democratic race is likely to garner most of the news media’s attention in the near term, eclipsing coverage of his campaign.

Mr. McCain said last week that he viewed the next couple of months as an opportunity to “get our own house in order,” and that he planned to use the time to travel overseas, roll out new policy proposals and deliver speeches.

His first order of business, though, will be an intense focus on raising money, with some 20 or 30 events a month. His campaign was nearly doomed last summer by overspending and its failure to raise enough money to keep up, and it has continued to lag behind what Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois have received in contributions. Through Jan. 31, Mr. McCain brought in $55 million, compared with Mrs. Clinton’s $138 million and Mr. Obama’s $141 million. And the Democratic candidates continue to raise money at a record pace.