California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman (R) wrote her campaign another check for $20 million Monday.
The billionaire former CEO of EBay has now put $59 million of her own money into the campaign, with election day still seven months away.
Whitman has already spent tens of millions of dollars in advertising and a new USC-Los Angeles Times poll suggests her investment is paying off.
Whitman led Democrat Jerry Brown 44 percent to 41 percent among the 1,515 registered voters, just outside the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
Two-thirds of those surveyed said they had heard or seen an ad about the race.
The telephone poll, conducted March 23-30, shows Whitman leading state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner by 40 points in the GOP primary.
“Whether it’s facing down the powerful public employee unions who are propping up Jerry Brown or our well-financed primary opponent, Meg’s campaign will have the resources necessary to fight back.” said Whitman Campaign Manager Jillian Hasner.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg holds the record for most personal wealth put into a campaign at $108 million during his 2009 mayoral campaign.
Whitman Campaign aides confirm that she is willing to spend up to $150 million of her own money on her campaign.