Whitman buys her own TV station for GOP convention

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Sure, Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman is saturating broadcast television up and down the state with her campaign ads. But this weekend, as the Republican Party faithful gather in Santa Clara for the state party convention, Whitman has gone a step further: She’s purchased her own television station. Anyone staying in the Santa Clara Hyatt Regency this weekend who turns to Channel 32 on TV will see the same Whitman ad attacking Steve Poizner over and over and over again.

Although neither Whitman’s campaign nor the Hyatt Regency staff could say offhand how much it cost to buy the channel for the weekend, Whitman spokeswoman Sarah Pompei quipped, ‘It was a lot cheaper than buying 72 hours’ worth of time’ on broadcast or cable television.

‘We just felt it was important for everyone to know that Steve Poizner is not the conservative he claims to be,’ she said.

Poizner spokesman Jarrod Agen said their campaign was taking a different tack. ‘We’re going about this the old-fashioned way, by talking to the grassroots,’ he said. ‘Never before has someone gone to such extremes [as Whitman] to buy an election.’

-- Anthony York in Santa Clara