Meg Whitman's $6.5 million fundraising, plus $4 million of her own money, puts her atop California gov race

Former eBay CEO and current GOP candidate for California governor Meg Whitman will announce shortly that she's already raised more than $6.5 million for her campaign. More, her campaign claims, than any other Republican candidates in the race longer.

Not bad considering she's a political newcomer and been an announced candidate for only five months.

And 85% of that dough came from Californians, the campaign says. Whitman has also chipped in $4 million of her own for a total of about $10.5 million.

In the news release Whitman's campaign chair, former mayor, former senator, former gov Pete Wilson, says:

There is no more certain measure of enthusiasm for a candidate than heavy early campaign contributions. This unprecedented outpouring of support for Meg confirms the demand for a new style of leadership that creates jobs, cuts wasteful spending, and effectively manages state government. Meg's appeal reaches far beyond just traditional Republicans. She is attracting new donors and new voters to expand our party at a critical time. They are putting their money where their hearts and minds are.

Whitman knows a little about money, having turned eBay from a company with 30 employees and $4.7 million into one with 15,000 employees and $8 billion in revenues. In the no-longer-very-recent presidential campaign, she was natrional finance chair for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and then raised millions for Sen. John McCain. Both have since endorsed her; probably a coincidence.

The gubernatorial field is vying for the unlikely honor in this fiscally-pressurized deficit days of replacing Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose term limits run out in January 2011.

Whitman's primary primary opponent, Steve Poizner, the state insurance commissioner, reports raising north of $1.2 million with $250,000 coming the last two days of the quarterly reporting period. He's also given himself $4.2 million and reports $3.5 million still in hand.

"The Poizner campaign will be fully-funded," said spokesman Jarrod Agen, "and we will make Meg Whitman spend it all.'

On the Democrat side, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom reported raising $1.6 million in the last six months, most of it online, which is way less than fellow Democrat, former gov, former mayor and current state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, who reports raising $7.3 million. 

All great news for the state's TV stations next year.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Comments

[John Goldstone]

Very poor headline writing: It's flat-out wrong!

The article says that Jerry Brown sits atop CA gov race.

An error like this is inexplicable -- unless:

1) The headline writer didn't read the whole article; or
2) The Times is deliberately "spinning" news in favor of the GOP candidate.

Either way: Tsk, tsk.

You guys should be able to do better than this.

[Nicholas]

The outpouring of "big money" for Meg Whitman from huge corporations and political insiders shows that this is a candidate that is fully controlled by the very folks who got California into this mess.

Ms. Whitman's candidacy is a slap in the face to voters and elected officials. Ms. Whitman fails to even vote half the time. How can anyone even consider voting for a candidate who does not even take time to exercise the most basic of democratic rights?

The answer: corporate interests and insider political types want her in office. California cannot afford Meg Whitman.

[Patricia]

If Whitman gets in you'll all see government jobs flying out the window - as well they should. California's base of taxpayers can no longer support top heavy government and wasteful pays along with outrageous benefits! I can't stand Whitman but perhaps she might be just what California needs right now. I'm a lifelong democrate yet I've watched the dems pick our pockets for years now for their own favorite handouts. It has to stop!

Who knows what's best for California at this time. When I see the pack that will run in the governor's race I have to relent and take a closer look at Whitman.

This woman never even had an office at Ebay - she had a cube just like her subordinates. Since she left Ebay their stock fell thru the floor and her hand picked replacement, John Donahoe is slowly killing off the business! I think the weary and battered sellers on Ebay would welcome her back with open arms!

[Joe Ryan]

"I think the weary and battered sellers on Ebay would welcome her back with open arms!" Patricia

Really Patricia? We all know Meg employs an army of weasals who run around the internet contributing shill baloney to blogs where she is criticized. If your not an ebay/Meg Whitman shill, you are simply clueless and have been conned by the mighty Meg BS machine. She's hated by 99% of ebay sellers who are not selling knockoff garbage on ebay while based in Hong Kong! Most Ebay sellers think the new CEO is a pinhead; but they realize nobody is more evil and amoral than Meg. The unbridled dishonesty and abuse every ebay employee displayed at all times towards anyone who dared to expect Meg Whitman and Ebay to act in good faith and not constantly cheat, extort and steal, came right from Meg herself. Meg's tenure is marked by fake bids that drove up ebay seller's bills, favoring foreign sellers over the American people (because she has contempt for them and despises our presence on this planet), copyright theft by ebay, and a continuous devotion to abusing every one in her path. She's a pathological liar and a con-artist. She ruined ebay and she will ruin anything she is involved with because she has a lower IQ than your average porch monkey. That the kind of puppet the globalist always use to do their deeds. Slick self promoters with little brains and no morals. She's a she's a master of deceptive self-promotion. Outside of that realm, she's just a lost, spoiled little rich girl who never grew up. I'm suing her punk-ass for the abuse she's heaped upon me, and I suggest all other ebay sellers do likewise. As for her 'green' credentials. Ebay used to be a great marketplace for selling used goods, but Meg decided that business model had to be discouraged. Now Ebay has been turned it into a counterfeit paradise filled with crappy knockoff garbage from China. The knockoff sellers have veto power over sellers from the US and they are given every advantage possible (including unlimited free listings) in order to help them destroy their US based competitors. What else do expect from a well paid servant of the globalist mafia. Favoring foreigners over Americans because she admires foreigners and thinks native born Americans are worthless sheep she will lead like a pied piper over a cliff, in service of the organized crime faction that presently rules most of our planet. Yes it is conspiracy, and Meg is part of it!!! If understanding the conspiracy we face is too complicated for some, maybe they should consider abstaining from voting until they get a clue. Here me, Patricia? Joe Ryan

[Master Mind]

I am sure that there would have been a squillion complaints about these. Did Whitman ever pull them from the site? No. So go figure - she made money from selling the shittiest of products.

http://www.blognow.com.au/fuckebay/147995/Meg_Whitman_-_sells_child_porn_toys_on_Ebay_-_Part_1.html

http://www.blognow.com.au/fuckebay/148190/Meg_Whitman_-_sells_child_porn_toys_on_Ebay_-_Part_2.html

http://www.blognow.com.au/fuckebay/148191/Meg_Whitman_-_sells_child_porn_toys_on_Ebay_-_Part_3.html

http://www.blognow.com.au/fuckebay/148192/Meg_Whitman_-_sells_child_porn_toys_on_Ebay_-_Part_4_.html

http://www.blognow.com.au/fuckebay/148195/Meg_Whitman_-_sells_child_porn_toys_on_Ebay_-_Part_5.html

http://www.blognow.com.au/fuckebay/148196/Meg_Whitman_-_sells_child_porn_toys_on_Ebay_-_Part_6_.html

[Patricia]

@Joe Ryan - I'm a 10+ year seller on Ebay - I am NOT a shill. If you read articles on Ebay you will likely find my posts attached and they are far from pretty. I am one of the "noise" that follows Ebay around and tries to set the record straight. I pull no punches where Ebay is concerned. As for this article, I'm basing my post on who has already thrown their hat into the ring for the governor's race. Right now, I believe her to be the best among them (which isn't saying much) unless someone else plans to run who is qualified. I'm hoping others will join the race or, frankly, California is doomed - less so if Whitman gets in but still doomed!

I know first hand what she did to Ebay but I cannot blame its present situation on her. John Donahoe is following a plan of "disruptive innovation" and that plan is accepted even by their board of directors. YES, we KNOW its wrong and that Ebay is actually dying because of it but the company was in far better condition before Whitman left.

I don't attribute the shills to Whitman - I believe she's pretty busy taking care of her political yearning. The shills are directly from Donahoe with some of them actually in upper management positions!!! One in particular was outted on auctionbytes! So, you see, my post was not actually based on who is best for California but in who is best among the mediochre potential candidates so far.