Today's Wall Street Journal argues that while ideological politics is on the rise around the country, money trumps ideology in California.
There's something to that. California is such a big, diverse state, with half-a-dozen different media markets, that running a campaign here requires tens of millions of dollars to get a basic message out. And it's worth noting that in each of the three races -- the Democratic and Republican nominations for governor and the Republican nomination for Senate -- the candidate who won the money battle seems all but certain to win the election.
On the GOP side, gubernatorial contender Meg Whitman, a billionaire, seems to have a bottomless pool of cash to create the sort of television ubiquity typically only seen in Central Asian dictatorships. And Senate contender Carly Fiorina, despite being outraised by her rival Tom Campbell, has used her personal wealth to get ads on the air in the last weeks of the campaign just as Campbell was running short of cash.
Money also triumphed in the Democratic contest for governor. Yes, Jerry Brown remains the only well-known candidate. But his ability to raise millions -- and to scare off the donors of his potential rivals, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa -- allowed him to clear the field and coast to the expected nomination in next Tuesday's elections.
This is too bad. State treasurer Bill Lockyer, who is widely considered the most effective Democratic elected official in the state, was urged by many, many people to run for governor but said plainly that he didn't think he could raise the money needed to overcome Brown's own fundraising and name recognition advantages. (Plus, Lockyer has a young family and he worried about the strain of being governor on that family if he somehow managed to win).
Is money the entire game? No. The winners have had to put together effective campaigns and take positions on issues. But without money, the most effective campaign and smartest policy proposals don't make any difference.
California is an awfully open and democratic place -- if you have the cash.
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