Whether she wins or not, Meg Whitman already has accomplished something in her quest to become California’s next governor. With six weeks still left in the campaign, Whitman has spent more of her own money than any other individual running for office in U.S. history.

 

To date, the Republican candidate and former eBay chief executive has used $119 million of her fortune to try to beat Democrat Jerry Brown. That’s more than billionaire New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg doled out ($108 million) on his reelection effort last year, and way more than Ross Perot spent ($63.5 million) in his race for the White House in 1992.

 

Other big spenders have been Jon Corzine ($60.2 million) when he ran for the Senate in New Jersey in 2000, and Mitt Romney, who shelled out $44.7 million of his own fortune when he ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. Bloomberg and Corzine won; Perot and Romney lost.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

Meg Whitman Blows Away Self-Funded Federal Candidates in Cash Comparison (by Dave Levinthal, OpenSecrets.org)