Meg Whitman will spend more than any American politician, other than President of the U.S. Obama, than any politician in U.S. History by completion of the California Governor's race.
Whitman's spent over $70-$80 Million to current, and says she's willing to spend $150 Million to win the California gubernatorial race. Steve Poizner spent over $25 Million in what is now history's largest investment with a gubernatorial loss, losing the ticket to Meg Whitman.
Whitman tallied 56% of the California vote, Poizner taking only 27% of the vote. The Whitman race is now also the most expensive gubernatorial primary in history, with what had two wealthy Silicon Valley entrepreneurs battling for the Republican nomination for state Governor, each trying to lay claim to the title of most conservative during the run.
Billionaire and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman has tapped into that personal fortune to previously flood her campaign for California Governor with at least $59 million--that number's moved to over $70 Million, in what is the most expensive campaign in state history. Steve Poizner, technology whiz kid turned state insurance commissioner who sold his GPS chip company for $1 billion, had turned out ads insinuating Whitman was "buying" her way into the Governor's position--interesting, since Poizner spent millions on his own campaign, over $25-30 Million.
Poizner is now out of the California race--after allowing Whitman to define herself through television and radio advertising commercials. Poizner never did manage to make up ground after waiting to run ads and spend the $25. Whitman's ad campaign attacked Poizner for a series of flip-flops since he first sought elected office in 2004. At the time, where he failed in that previous win, Poizner supported abortion rights, making it easier to raise local parcel taxes for education and environmental protections, stands he has reversed as he sought the gubernatorial nomination which he has now lost.
Poizner had once declared himself an "Arnold Schwarzenegger Republican," afterward running television commercials criticizing the California Governor whose popularity plummeted further when state's fiscal fortunes seriously declined. Poizner's campaign argued that Whitman as Governor would be akin to a third term of Schwarzenegger, disliked by many for his willingness to raise fees and taxes in California.
Like Governor Schwarzenegger, Whitman is a first-time gubernatorial candidate who has had slim knowledge of California state government operations. Whitman finally acknowledged that she'd failed to vote for most of her adult life. Despite Whitman's failure to vote, apparently California's are seeing slim pickings-Whitman's in the race. Whitman spells out her positions on many issues facing California state but skips over details about how she would accomplish those goals.
Poizner had repeatedly stressed Meg Whitman's ties to Goldman Sachs-Wall Street investment bank where she once served on the board of directors. "Goldman is a big issue," said Dan Schnur, director of the USC Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics and Republican media strategist. "The only worse thing for a candidate in this political climate would be building oil wells for BP," he said. Whitman's "opponents are going to spend more time talking about Goldman Sachs than the SEC investigators will."
Whitman has said she will spend an unprecedented $150 million in her quest for California State Governor's office. It's unclear how her wealth will play in a state that has been hit hard by the recession, seeing home foreclosure rates among the highest in the nation and unemployment at above 12 percent for months now. Former two-term governor, state Attorney General Jerry Brown, will face off with Whitman-but doubters say Brown's age and gender could place the candidate out for the count.
Brown, age 72, known as an innovator with ideas that seemed out of the mainstream when he was governor from 1975 to 1983, has been a radio talk show host, mayor of Oakland and now, California state attorney general. Brown has adopted a more conservative platform, announcing that he would not support new taxes unless California voters approve them, and taking centrist positions on state spending and prisons. "The great irony here is we're in the greatest wave of populist anger that this country has seen in almost 20 years," Schurman of Moveon.org says.
"Voters are angry with career politicians and they're angry with big business. What we'll see this fall is an almost perfect decision point for voters to tell us who they hate more."