Whitman On Whirlwind Swing Across State In Campaign's Final Days
SAN JOSE (AP) -- California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman took her campaign to Asian American voters statewide Saturday as polls showed the former eBay chief executive slipping behind her Democratic opponent with just more than a week left in the race.
Whitman began a day of public appearances at a Vietnamese restaurant in San Jose owned by a Republican supporter. She was scheduled to make appearances Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles’ Koreatown and in the heavily Asian-American San Gabriel Valley.
During the campaign stops, Whitman spoke confidently about her chances for victory on Nov. 2.
"The polls are all over the place," she said to a group of a dozen mostly Asian journalists in San Jose'’s Saigon Kitchen restaurant. "I’m going to fight for every vote in every part of the state."
Whitman’s remarks in San Jose come three days after a poll by the Public Policy Institute of California showed Whitman trailing Jerry Brown, the state attorney general and former governor, by 8 percentage points.
Meanwhile, Whitman’s campaign promoted a private poll showing Whitman in a statistical dead heat with Brown, while leading among independents.
Whitman, who has spent an unprecedented $142 million of her fortune on her campaign, was asked about the role of her spending on the campaign.
"The money that I am spending on the race is money that I have earned," Whitman said.
Whitman asked supporters how to improve her outreach to the Vietnamese community and told potential voters that their support was crucial.
"You are a very important group that could actually swing the outcome of this election," said Whitman.
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