Help keep Salon independent

Meg Whitman breaks U.S. campaign spending records

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

Published

Salon Default

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


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Related Articles