Meg Whitman Plummets in Calif Polls, After Spending Millions
Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman's position in the California gubernatorial race has dropped precipitously in the most recent poll, in spite of the fact that she has poured tens of millions of her personal fortune into the race -- even setting a campaign spending record in California.
With less than a month before California's June primary, Whitman's lead over her GOP opponent, state insurance commissioner Steve Poizner, now stands at 38 percent to 29 percent among Californians likely to vote in the Republican primary, according to a survey from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). About a third of voters remain undecided. Whitman's lead fell dramatically from March, when she was ahead of Poizner 61 percent to 11 percent.
In a general election match-up, Democratic State Attorney General Jerry Brown has a slight lead over Republican Whitman at 42 percent to 37 percent. This is a reversal from March, when Whitman led Brown 44 percent to 39 percent.
Whitman has spent $68 million of her own money on the race so far, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Whitman blasted the California airwaves with ads in March, according to the LA Times, but Poizner eventually made his own investments and gained traction with damaging attacks against Whitman's stance on illegal immigration (he called her too soft on the issue). As a billionaire, former business executive, Whitman was also hurt by the focus put on her ties to Goldman Sachs. Poizner also in a web video blasted eBay as a hub for pornography.
When documents showed in March how much money Whitman was spending in the campaign, Poizner said, "Never before in the history of the United States has someone so blatantly tried to buy an election. "
The L.A. Times reports Poizner has spent $24 million of his own money on his campaign.
