There are a lot of measures that are used in computing the viability and health of a political campaign. Given the enormous costs associated with campaigning in a state as large as California, one of the most critical metrics is a candidates ability to raise money. Yesterday marked the end of a six-month reporting period — candidates for office, in a few weeks, will have to file official statements noting what they have raised and spent from January 1 through June 30.
Meg Whitman’s campaign for Governor today announced that they have raised a staggering $6.5 million dollars in just five months — a huge financial outpouring of support for her candidacy. This does not include the more than $4 million of her own personal funds that she has given to her campaign, bringing her fundraising total for the period to above $10 million.
It will be some time before official reports will be available for review and analysis — to get more insights into who Whitman’s donors are, and from where they hail. Although the campaign touts that over 85% of the money they have raised comes from donors here in California.
Former California Governor Pete Wilson, who serves as Chairman of Whitman’s campaign, had this to say about her impressive fundraising numbers: “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.”
As of now, I do not have any numbers from the campaigns of Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner or former Congressman Tom Campbell — although it is expected that both will have raised substantially less in this period (though Poizner’s personal contributions to his own campaign will total in the millions). When we do have some numbers, we’ll let you know.
In the meantime, I can only say that Whitman’s fundraising results are nothing short of impressive. While neither she nor Steve Poizner will suffer for available resources to get their message out to the voters (both are extremely affluent) — it is a demonstration of broad support to raise those kinds of funds — especially when you are a candidate capable of self-funding a campaign.
(The photo is of Meg Whitman speaking last year at the Republican National Convention.)