Democratic gubernatorial candidate for California Jerry Brown must be feeling pretty pleased with himself. Despite his Republican opposition candidate spending nearly 14 times what he has on his campaign, the final weeks before the election see him with money in the bank, and still enjoying a lead over Republican Meg Whitman.
Whitman is thought to have a personal fortune of close to $1.2 billion, $119 million of which she has spent on her campaign, bringing the campaign total to $140 million as of September 30. Compare this to Brown, who has spent a modest $10.8 million on his campaign, with the latest campaign finance reports showing he has a further $22.6 million left in the bank. Whitman in contrast has only $9.2 million left in her campaign account.
While in most cases Brown’s extra cash in the final days may be seen as a distinct advantage, Whitman has made no bones about her will to put more of her personal finances into the campaign as it draws to a close.
Despite the spending on both sides, in essence the race is still considered anybody’s game. One Field Poll conducted in late September showed the candidates dead even, however the Real Clear Politics website has shown averages for later polls giving Brown as five percentage point lead over Whitman.
Whitman’s slide in the polls is most likely caused by revelations that her housekeeper of nine years was in fact an illegal resident in the US, if she can come back from that, she is still well and truly in the running.
