California Gov's Costly Race

The governor’s race in California is shaping up to be the most expensive non-presidential race in history. Meg Whitman, the former eBay CEO, is likely to be the Republican nominee, and Jerry Brown, the longtime California pol, the Democratic one. Whitman says she’s ready to spend $150 million on the campaign, $2 million more than the record-setting 2002 New York gubernatorial race in which Republican George Pataki triumphed. Whitman’s recent advertising blitz has demolished her huge deficit in the polls, and now the two are running neck and neck. That prompted Brown to step up his attacks on the businesswoman this weekend, charging that Whitman was trying to “buy the election,” by trying to “scapegoat” immigrants” and “crush the poor” all while nestled in “the loving embrace of Wall Street.”