Meg Whitman breaks U.S. campaign spending records

Personal donation grows to $119 million, surpassing previous record holder Michael Bloomberg

Published September 15, 2010 9:12PM (EDT)

Meg Whitman, the Republican candidate for California governor, has surpassed New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg for the highest personal contribution in American campaign history.

Whitman's campaign reported another $15 million contribution late Tuesday, bringing her personal donation to $119 million.

The billionaire former eBay chief executive's spending surpasses the previous record of $108 million set by Bloomberg in his bid for a third term last year.

Bloomberg spent about $185 per vote for his re-election, and he did not take donations.

Whitman, however, has spent the summer aggressively fundraising for her general election race against Democratic Attorney General Jerry Brown.

Whitman planned a visit Wednesday to the San Francisco headquarters of Yelp, an online review site.


By Juliet Williams

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2010 Elections California Meg Whitman