Politics and Law

(Credit: Megwhitman.com)

California's gubernatorial primary is still 10 months away, but the multimillion-dollar race for campaign cash has already picked up a quick pace, with former eBay CEO Meg Whitman at the front of the pack.

It's no surprise that the billionaire Internet exec, who has never held elected office, has lots of money in the bank to spend on her campaign. According to a tally Saturday, she has some $19 million in cash available--and that's after spending $6.1 million to get her campaign operations up and running. It's also after she contributed first $4 million, then $15 million of her own money to the race.

But for the first half of the year, Whitman, a GOP candidate, also raised $6.7 million in individual campaign contributions, according to press accounts on campaign finance reports posted Friday. Coming in second for individual contributions was Democratic rival Attorney General Jerry Brown, who reportedly raised $3.4 million in individual contributions during the same period.

According to Whitman's campaign, her recent $15 million contribution to the campaign was part of a 3-to-1 match on the first $5 million donated by supporters. Of the $6.7 million she received from individuals, some noteworthy donations include, according to the San Jose Mercury News, $52,000 from Sun Microsystems Chairman Scott McNealy and his wife, and $26,000 from former Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang (who also, incidentally, donated the same amount to Democratic candidate and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom).

Whitman's numbers far outpace those of another Silicon Valley exec in the GOP gubernatorial race, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. Poizner reportedly raised $900,000 in private contributions during the filing period and, after contributing some $3.5 million of his on money to the campaign, has about $3.7 million in cash on hand.

GOP congressman and gubernatorial candidate Tom Campbell reportedly raised $305,017 in individual contributions during the first half of the year. Newsom raised $1.6 million.

Of course, having a hefty campaign war chest is important in a state as big and expensive as California, a state facing an unprecedented budget crisis and for which Moody's just gave the country's lowest general obligation debt rating.

Caption: Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman speaks to delegates at the Republican convention last year.

(Credit: Declan McCullagh/CNET)

Correction 11:32 a.m. PST: An earlier version of this story misstated the month Meg Whitman stepped down as CEO. It was March 2008.

Last month, the news was that former eBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman had taken a tentative step toward running for California governor. On Monday, she took a more definite step by announcing a 2010 exploratory committee.

Whitman, 52, will become the leading Republican candidate to succeed outgoing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger next year, who will retire because of term limits.

"California faces challenges unlike any other time in its history--a weak and faltering economy, massive job losses, and an exploding state budget deficit. California is better than this, and I refuse to stand by and watch it fail," Whitman said in a statement.

The billionaire Internet executive was an adviser to Republican Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, and endorsed him during a speech at the party's convention in St. Paul, Minn., last year. Whitman's message at the time: "Higher taxes encourage wasteful spending, demonstrate government's inability to choose among competing priorities, and destroy your prosperity."

Whitman stepped down as CEO of eBay in March 2008, a decade after she transformed the company from a tiny auction site to an Internet icon. During her tenure, the company's split-adjusted share price leaped from just over $1 to a 2004 peak of almost $60, before plummeting to a recent price of under $14.

Even though Whitman is politically untested, she's wealthy enough to fund a serious gubernatorial campaign. Possible primary rivals include State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, another Silicon Valley exec who already holds a statewide office. He founded SnapTrack, a cell phone locating company, and sold it to Qualcomm for $1 billion in January 2000, and also worked in the Bush administration's National Security Council. Another GOP rival could be Tom Campbell, a former U.S. congressman and dean of the business school at University of California at Berkeley.

Democrats that could be contenders in the general election include Attorney General Jerry Brown, who was already governor 30 years ago, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. So is current U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, assuming she's not entirely satisfied by her new job as head of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee.

A Rasmussen poll released last month puts Whitman at 38 percent among California voters, behind Brown but ahead of other potential candidates. Brown has recently attracted criticism for his campaign against California suburbs--including threats of legal action against municipalities that allow single-family homes to be built instead of mandating high-density housing around public transportation.

Caption: Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman speaks to delegates at Republican convention last year.

(Credit: Declan McCullagh/CNET)

Meg Whitman has been talked about as long ago as March 2008 as a candidate for governor of California. Now there's more evidence the former eBay CEO will actually run.

The latest news that's fueling speculation is that Whitman, 52, resigned from the boards of eBay, Procter & Gamble, and Dreamworks SKG. Her spokesman said Monday that the resignation was for personal reasons, and carefully did not confirm--or deny--any gubernatorial ambitions.

Whitman had become an adviser to Republican Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, and enthusiastically endorsed him during the party's convention in St. Paul, Minn., last year. Whitman's message at the time: "Higher taxes encourage wasteful spending, demonstrate government's inability to choose among competing priorities, and destroy your prosperity."

That positions the billionaire executive as one of the better-known, albeit politically untested, Republican candidates who could succeed outgoing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2010. He's scheduled to be retired by term limits.

Possible primary rivals include State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, another Silicon Valley exec who already holds a statewide office. He founded SnapTrack, a cell phone locating company, and sold it to Qualcomm for $1 billion in January 2000, and also worked in the Bush administration's National Security Council. Another GOP rival could be Tom Campbell, a former U.S. congressman and dean of the business school at University of California, Berkeley.

Democrats that could be contenders in the general election include Attorney General Jerry Brown, who was already governor 30 years ago, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. So is current U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, assuming she's not entirely satisfied by her new job as head of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee.