Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner has raised $1.2 million in the second half of 2009, bringing his campaign's total raised since 2008 to $2.46 million, according to a campaign news release issued this afternoon.
The secretary of state's office will reveal official campaign finance data for the second half of 2009 at the end of this month.
Poizner, a former Silicon Valley CEO, has also contributed $19.2 million of his own money to his campaign, state records show. His campaign's press release says he has $17.5 million in cash on hand.
Poizner's money total still trails that of rival Meg Whitman, the former CEO of online auction firm eBay, who has also given her campaign $19 million but has raised money at a faster clip.
Current state records, which only reveal contributions over $5,000 given in the second half of last year, show Whitman raising far more than $1.2 million during that period.
Poizner has been under pressure in recent weeks to spend more money on his campaign, as Whitman blankets the state in radio ads. Last month, he answered those doubts by giving his own campaign $15 million. Today's news release notes that Poizner's campaign raised $850,000 in December and that almost all of his money came from in-state contributors.
The third GOP candidate Tom Campbell has much less campaign money than either Whitman or Poizner although he leads Poizner in the polls. Both badly trail Whitman in the polls.
In the news release, Poizner says, "The grassroots core of the Republican Party is calling out for conservative reform, and I am proud to be generating my support from those hard-working Californians who will determine the Republican nominee. I'm proud of our team's success in December and I'm excited we have the funds to communicate our message of cutting taxes across the board, reducing state spending, cleaning up welfare, and fixing the budget mess."
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