From today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary E-mail…
It’s not tough for Californians to figure out why the state’s GOP gubernatorial primary has taken a sharp turn for the worse for Meg Whitman. Just turn on the TV.
Attack ads by her Republican rival, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, have been running non-stop, accusing the former eBay CEO of being a "liberal" and suggesting she is soft on bailouts and illegal immigration. But perhaps Mr. Poizner’s most stinging attack concerns her past support for Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer, who received $8,000 in campaign contributions from Ms. Whitman seven years ago.
Ms. Whitman’s response to questions about her past donations is the lament of many CEOs. She gave money to influential legislators in both parties. In 2003 she donated to the Boxer campaign and joined a group lauding the senator as a "friend of California’s technology industry" for opposing Internet sales taxes (a huge issue for eBay).
Though he can’t match Ms. Whitman’s wealth, Mr. Poizner, a former tech entrepreneur, has his own sizeable bankroll to deploy. Ms. Whitman spent $70 million early, hoping for a coronation as the Republican nominee. Mr. Poizner held back but now is spending $2 million a week. "We saved our resources for when people were really paying attention," he says. Result: What had been a 40-point Whitman lead two months ago has disappeared. A new poll by SurveyUSA finds the two running neck-in-neck.
The putative Democratic nominee is former Governor Jerry Brown, and he’s no doubt enjoyed watching his Republican rivals cut each other down. Campaigning is particularly expensive in California, and they’re doing to each other what Mr. Brown lacks the means to do himself.
— Allysia Finley
May 18th, 2010 at 12:00 am
By the time November comes around, no one will remember the Poizner-Whitman battle, regardless of who wins. What will count is how the nominee does in the period from Labor Day, on.