Meg Whitman's $140 million could turn Calif. governor's vote

By Karen Tumulty
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 18, 2010

LOS ANGELES - To spend any time at all in California these days is to feel the gale force of Meg Whitman's money.

Sure, California has seen its share of wealthy novice candidates from the business world, most of whom have failed. But the billionaire former chief executive of eBay is waging a campaign for governor unlike any before, both in its resources and in a no-voter-left-behind strategy that no Republican here has ever tried.

Like earlier big-money candidates in this vast state, Whitman has carpet-bombed the airwaves. Lately, she has been running more than 1,300 television spots a day, according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks political advertising.

It is the most expensive campaign ever for a nonpresidential candidate. Whitman has poured about $140 million of her personal fortune into the race, outspending her Democratic opponent, Jerry Brown, by better than 10 to 1.

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