Caruso on track to exceed $100 million in campaign spending
WASHINGTON — Campaign finance reports published by Federal Election Commission show that California Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman’s campaign on Monday raised more than $19 million despite her campaign’s fundraising shortfall and the failure of a new campaign finance law.
Whitman’s campaign told The New York Times that it raised $10.8 million in the last quarter, bringing the campaign to $15.3 million. The campaign, however, missed the mark on fundraising for the first quarter of the year, though the campaign did report more than $18 million in net contributions.
Whitman told a New Hampshire audience that her campaign has raised more for her than in any state’s gubernatorial election, and that she is more than double her opponent, Jerry Brown, a former California governor and attorney general. Whitman’s campaign said the campaign is raising more than any candidate in the nation.
Brown is seeking to become the nation’s first openly gay governor when he faces term limits and can’t run for re-election to the office. Whitman and Brown face each other in the Nov. 7 election.
Whitman campaign spokesman Kevin Madden said Whitman, a millionaire, has been raising funds almost nonstop since she announced her decision to run for governor about a year ago.
Whitman also raised more than twice as much as California’s other major Republican candidate, California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, who was outraised by Whitman.
Brown’s campaign manager, Roger Salazar, said in a statement that Brown’s “aggressive fundraising” suggests that the Brown campaign has done “exceptionally well in this very competitive race.”
“We are confident our campaign will continue to grow, and we are proud of the outpouring of support the Brown campaign is receiving from the conservative grassroots and elected officials throughout the state,” Salazar said.
Whitman has said