Commentary: A fight for power in Sacramento tests boundaries of campaign finance law
Updated
If Californians vote on this November’s state ballot, they are in for a showdown between two powerful players in the process. The political battleground is the political money battle in the Golden State, where campaign filings come with an estimated $40.5 billion in spending, and where an estimated $10 billion flows through the state’s public campaign financing program in an election year.
If Californians vote on this November’s state ballot, they are in for a showdown between two powerful players in the process. The political battleground is the political money battle in the Golden State, where campaign filings come with an estimated $40.5 billion in spending, and where an estimated $10 billion flows through the state’s public campaign financing program in an election year.
In this election for governor, $1.2 million could play a pivotal role in how the race plays out. The gubernatorial candidate has more money to spend on this race than any other state, and so far, more than any other candidate.
The outcome could decide how the political money battle plays out. If voters reject the Proposition 30 measure and give the Democratic nominee for governor a victory, she will have no shortage of cash to spend to ensure her victory.
If voters reject the Proposition 30 measure and elect the Republican contender for governor, she has to find other ways to fund her campaign, and to finance her ability to raise more money.
In this “campaign finance environment,” the battle for Sacramento is shaping up to be the most-important campaign in California for years. This November, it could be decided by as little as $1 million.
In this two-part series, The Center for Public Integrity explores the role that campaign financing plays in the political money battle in California, and how it will be decided on Nov. 8.
The political money battle in California may come to a head on Election Day, Nov. 8 — or be decided before then.
No one knows for sure. But given the state’s $40.5 billion in spending on political campaigns over the last two years, the state may decide, with less than 48 hours’ notice, that it wants to spend just $1 million over the next nine days.
That could determine the outcome of the most-expensive race in California history.
In this two-part series, The Center for Public Integrity explores the role that campaign financing plays in