Whitman Campaign Coffers Running Near Empty

On the heels of her latest television advertisement saying that California could be "far more efficient and effective than it is by running this thing a little bit more like a business," former eBay CEO and Republican gubernatorial nomination hopeful Meg Whitman's campaign might be running out of cash just like the state.

Based on average daily spending on advertising and the most recent reports of available cash-on-hand, the San Jose Mercury News has calculated that her campaign coffers will be empty around the end of the month.

That is, unless the billionaire cuts her campaign another massive check. She has already given herself $39 million, and could easily spend up to $50 million before the primary, and if nominated, could break the $100 million mark after a general election campaign.

Whitman recently tangled in the opinion pages of the Los Angeles Times with her Republican opponent, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, on the topic of immigration.

Poizner has recently taken a hard line on the issue, while Whitman stated that unlike key adviser and former Gov. Pete Wilson, she doesn't support taking health care and education away from the children of undocumented aliens.

For his part, Poizner still has millions on hand, and has yet to unleash any sort of media blitz beyond campaign contacts with the press.

As for Whitman's complaints about Attorney General Jerry Brown coordinating his campaign with independent expenditure committees like Level the Playing Field? The Fair Political Practices Commission has looked into the case and found no ethical hanky-panky.

Jackson West has significantly less than $14 million in campaign cash available.