Poizner throws $2.5 million more into governor’s race

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

As private polls have shown Steve Poizner closing on Meg Whitman’s lead in the Republican race for governor, he has injected $2.5 million more of his own money into his campaign.

The contribution, made Tuesday by the Poizner Family Trust, according to state records, brings to a total of $22 million the amount the state insurance commissioner has contributed to his own campaign. He last gave his campaign nearly $200,000 in March, but, previously down by polls by as much as 50 points, he had not put in a very significant amount since donating $15 million in December.

Whitman, the billionaire former chief of EBay, has donated $59 million to her campaign. With the blistering pace of television advertising in the race, Poizner may need more than the $2.5 million he’s now contributed. If so, he is still taking a cautious approach financially based on the prospect that he could lose the June 8 primary; if he puts too much money in now and has some left over, he wouldn’t be able to get it back and could only use it if he ran for another office.

--Michael Rothfeld in Sacramento