Meg's invested $170M so far in an effort to reduce her taxes. She never answered how much she'd save. Anyway, if she had just made one simple ad saying, "I could have spent $170M to buy the election, but instead I'm buying $170M of solar panels and installing them in the ghettos and barrios. She would have won. In the meantime, she spent $170M to say "I will control spending."
Brown Extends Lead Over Whitman in Latest USC/L.A. Times Poll
By Alison Vekshin and Michael B. Marois
Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Democrat Jerry Brown more than doubled his advantage over Republican Meg Whitman in a poll for governor of California, the most populous U.S. state.
Brown led Whitman 52 percent to 39 percent among likely voters, as he gained support among Latinos, according to a poll released today by the University of Southern California and the Los Angeles Times. Brown was ahead 49 percent to 44 percent in a USC/Times survey last month.
Brown, 72, who was governor from 1975 to 1983 and is now attorney general, is vying with Whitman, 54, the former chief executive officer of EBay Inc. The winner will lead the U.S. state with the biggest economy and worst credit rating among states. California is climbing out of a $19 billion budget deficit, with unemployment at 12.4 percent in September, third- highest behind Nevada and Michigan.
Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer led Republican Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co., by 50 percent to 42 percent among likely voters, statistically unchanged from last month, the L.A. Times said.
Both gubernatorial candidates faced embarrassments in the past month. A former housekeeper from Mexico accused Whitman of employing her even after revealing she was in the country illegally. Brown used the allegation to accuse Whitman, who advocates a crackdown on undocumented workers, of “talking from both sides of her mouth.”
Aide’s Remark
In an Oct. 12 debate, Brown apologized after an aide called Whitman a “whore” in a leaked recording of a conversation between Brown and his campaign staff. Whitman attacked Brown for “insensitivity to what that word means to women.”
Brown led among Latino voters by 59 percent to 23 percent, up from an advantage of 19 points in September, the poll release said. Among women, he extended his lead to 21 points from nine, the L.A. Times reported.
Whitman has put $141.5 million of her own money into the campaign and raised another $29.35 million, for a total of $170.85 million. She had $12.4 million available as of Oct. 16, according to state filings.
Brown raised $32.6 million through Oct. 16 and had $11.6 million on hand. Independent groups such as the State Council of Service Employees and California Working Families for Jerry Brown have poured another $20 million into the race, according to the California Fair Political Practices Commission.
The USC/L.A. Times survey of 922 likely voters was conducted Oct. 13-20 and has a margin for error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
A survey by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California, released last week, showed Brown leading Whitman 44 percent to 36 percent among likely voters. |
