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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Whitman outspending AG Brown in Cailf. gov race

Whitman

SACRAMENTO (Legal Newsline) - California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman outspent her Democratic opponent, state Attorney General Jerry Brown, by an 86-1 margin in a five-week period ending June 30.

The figure is according to financial reports filed earlier this week with the secretary of state's office. From May 23-June 30, Brown spent $229,520 to Whitman's $19.7 million -- mostly on consultants and TV and radio ads. For the year, Brown has spent just $633,205 on his campaign.

According to the financial reports, Brown raised $2.8 million during the five-week period -- less than half of what the former eBay CEO raised from outside sources.

So far, Whitman has spent $64.3 million on TV, radio and Web ads. She has spent $9.7 million on campaign consultants.

However, as of June 30, the California attorney general had more than $23.2 million cash on hand, more than twice what Whitman had left over.

Brown's campaign told the Mercury News he's raised another $1.1 million since June 30. Whitman's campaign said it raised $1.3 million in that period.

Of the $26.3 million raised by the Whitman campaign during the filing period, $20 million came from Whitman herself. The billionaire has now contributed $91 million out of her own pocket.

But Brown's people don't seem concerned.

"Our fundraising demonstrates that we will have the resources to get our message out to voters about the experience, independence and authenticity of Jerry Brown," Steven Glazer, Brown's campaign manager, told the Mercury News.

"Meg Whitman is trying to use massive amounts of money and advertising to cover up her history of not voting and not caring about public affairs."

Sarah Pompeii, spokeswoman for the Whitman campaign, responded, "Unlike Jerry Brown, who has entrenched union interests spending millions to run a shadow campaign on his behalf, Meg doesn't owe anyone anything. She is running a smart, strategic campaign designed to win and has invested the necessary resources to ensure California voters know the truth about her plans to create jobs, fix education and end the dysfunction in Sacramento."

From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by e-mail at jessica@legalnewsline.com.

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