Whitman Out to a Big, "Growing" Lead in CA

A new poll from Capitol Weekly/Probolsky Research takes the temperature of California Republicans:

Former eBay executive Meg Whitman has opened up a wide lead in the Republican race for governor, according to the latest Capitol Weekly/Probolsky Research poll.

About a third of Republicans and decline-to-state voters who said they intend to vote Republican said they favor Whitman, who has a 3-to-1 edge over rival contender Tom Campbell, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner remains stuck in a distant third, with 5.5 percent of Republican support.

The numbers show a significant increase in recent weeks for Whitman that reflects her prodigious spending. Already, seven months before the primary and full year before the general election, Whitman has spent more than $19 million. The level of spending is remarkable, even in a state accustomed to multimillion-dollar campaigns.

It's nice to have money. It didn't help Corzine, and Bloomberg spent a fortune to win by the smallest of margins, but in these tough economic times, both parties will be on the look-out for plausible, self-financing candidates. The primary is a long way off, but Whitman looks likely to be a formidable opponent, having overcome some controversy over her voting record, or lack thereof, and her YouTube praise of Obama's commie green jobs czar Van Jones. Poizner's campaign hasn't been able to do any damage with those stories, all of which bodes pretty well for Meg.