It’s only the primary — the general election will take place in five months — and the California governor’s race is already the most expensive for a state’s top office in American history, based on an analysis of advertising spending by the tracking firm AdImpact.
A total of $315.8 million has been spent on TV, streaming and digital ads by 30 different groups pushing for or against a candidate for California governor.
The vast majority of those dollars were spent by one man, the analysis found: Tom Steyer, a former hedge fund manager who is running as a progressive Democrat, spent $201.2 million, making him responsible for 64 percent of the total spent on ads in the race.
A PAC opposing Mr. Steyer, funded by the California Chamber of Commerce and other businesses, was the second-largest advertiser in the race, spending $30.9 million, according to the analysis.
Ad spending by other candidates and their supporters paled in comparison to Mr. Steyer’s.
Matt Mahan, the Democratic mayor of San Jose, benefited from $35.1 million in total spending by his own campaign and an independent committee supporting him. And $24.4 million was spent on ads supporting Xavier Becerra, a Democrat and former California attorney general, by his campaign and two other PACs.
The $315.8 million spent on the California governor’s race so far makes it the fifth most expensive nonpresidential race on record, according to AdImpact.
Georgia, Ohio and Pennsylvania have had more expensive races for Senate seats. The only other California contest that made it into the top 10 most expensive nonpresidential campaigns was the 2022 fight over Proposition 27, which sought to legalize sports betting in the state. Voters rejected it overwhelmingly.
Laurel Rosenhall is a Sacramento-based reporter covering California politics and government for The Times.
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