REUTERS/Robert Galbraith
This is what happens when really, really rich people run for office.
By donating another $15 million of her own money to her campaign treasury, California Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has bumped her total donations up to a record-breaking $119 million. The new total makes the former eBay CEO the record-holder for the most personal spending by any candidate in any American election in history.
The previous record was held by New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg who spent $109 million of his personal fortune on his 2009 reelection campaign.
But as ABCNews notes, spending piles of your own money does not always equal victory. Ross Perot spent $63.5 million in 1992 and garnered just 19% of the vote. Steve Forbes spent a combined $77 million of his fortune for his two failed presidential bids.
(Speaking of Republicans and money… read this: The New GOP Money Stampede.)