California’s economy may be hurting, but Republican Meg Whitman is doing everything she can to pull the political consulting industry out of the doldrums.
In the first six months the former eBay CEO – and political newbie – spent more than $2 million on political consultants and nearly $500,000 on polling for her likely run for governor.
It’s not as though she can’t afford it. Whitman, who was one of the 400 richest people in America back in 2007, had $4.9 million in her campaign war chest on June 30 and put another $15 million of her own into the “exploratory” campaign effort last month. Add to that the $2 million-plus she’s raised from donors in the past month and it’s obvious she can bring in all the outside experts she wants.
Still, you have to wonder if there are any questions left to ask after spending that much on polling. And if Whitman already has pumped out a couple million for consulting fees nearly a year before next June’s GOP primary, what’s the final total likely to be?
It’s not just California that’s benefiting from Whitman’s generosity. Her consultant list includes companies and individuals from Florida, New Jersey, New York, Washington, Virginia, Texas and Massachusetts. Scott Howell and Co., a GOP media firm out of Dallas, collected $300,000 from the campaign between January and June, for example.
But when you have the type of money Whitman has – and the willingness to spend it – it makes running a campaign so much easier.
A look at Whitman’s campaign finance report and some back-of-the-envelope figuring shows that she’s paying nearly $250,000 to consultants who appear to be on monthly retainers. That doesn’t include thousands more in salaries for campaign workers, rent for office space, telephones and all the other regular expenses. That money has to be paid each and every month before a nickel can be spent on mailers, TV ads, campaign swings, get-out-the-vote efforts and all the other out front and visible things that get a candidate elected.
That monthly “nut” of fixed expenses is the bane of most campaigns. But it’s a different matter when a candidate like Whitman can just write her own check.
Consultants are just part of Whitman’s political expenses, however. In the first six months of the year, the campaign spent $6.1 million and had nearly $300,000 in bills waiting to be paid.
Some of that money was spent to raise the cash for her campaign and it was used for some high-end events. Whitman held fund-raisers in such chi-chi spots as the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles, the St. Regis Resort in Dana Point, the Inn at Torrey Pines in San Diego and the Ritz-Carleton Hotel in New York City.
State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, another GOP candidate for governor, also is doing his bit for the consulting industry. His most recent campaign finance reports show that he’s spent about $750,000 on consultants this year, a large chunk of his $1.5 million in expenses.
Poizner, a Silicon Valley businessman, is also helping to finance his campaign, to the tune of $3.5 million and counting of his own cash.
Compared to Whitman, though, Poizner looks to be running his election effort on a budget, although it’s a budget that has let him spend $1.5 million this year. While Whitman’s top consultants are paid $25,000 or more each month, for example, Poizner’s people seem to top out at around $15,000. Of course that money has gone to a variety of consultants as the campaign has struggled to settle on a team for the run to the June primary.
The third candidate on the GOP side doesn’t have enough money to worry too much about consultant costs. Former San Jose Rep. Tom Campbell ended June with $317,000 in the bank and expenses that look like the change Whitman and Poizner can find in their couches.
John Wildermuth is a longtime writer on California politics.