Rich Republican candidates in California make national GOP happy
Former Hewlett-Packard chief executive officer Carly Fiorina announces her candidacy for U.S. Senate at Earth Friendly Products packaging plant on November 4, 2009 in Garden Grove, California. Fiorina battled a nine-month bout with breast cancer and lost her hair during chemotherapy treatment.
2010 is supposed to be an “off year” election. But you’d never know it from the amount of money being spent on campaigns. KPCC’s Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde says it’s the kind of spending that makes national political parties happy.
Here’s something you already know: California is the most expensive state in the country to run for office.
Tom Jensen with Public Policy Polling says national political parties have a “love-hate” relationship with California. Jensen mostly polls for Democrats, but he says both parties love raising California money for races outside the state. He says they hate spending it here on expensive political TV ads.
This year is different.
One Republican angling to challenge US Senator Barbara Boxer is the wealthy former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina.
Two of the GOP candidates for Governor have reached into very deep pockets and put up their own money: Steve Poizner anted up $15 million; former EBay CEO Meg Whitman kicked in $19 million.
Tom Jensen says Republicans like rich candidates. "We have a situation in California," he says, "where the Republicans are turning to people who are rich and can self-fund and then the National Republican Party doesn’t have to throw that much money in because they have people who spend their own."
Pollster Tom Jensen says the unknown is whether deep pockets can make up for lack of experience in public service. Steve Poizner doesn’t have to worry about that unknown; he has both money and experience, having served as California’s insurance commissioner.
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