Before he goes too far in setting up his new America Party, Elon Musk should talk to Meg Whitman about how being a tech billionaire doesn’t make you a political wizard. Whitman thought her wealth could buy the governorship of California in 2010. Of her $1.
5 billion net worth that year, she blew $177 million on her campaign. Rival Jerry Brown spent just $36 million and crushed her, 53.8% to 40.
9%. Her 4.1 million votes cost $43 per vote.
His 5.4 million votes cost just $7 per vote, one-sixth as much. There are many differences between the two situations which make things even harder for Musk.
Whitman ran for the job herself and first garnered the Republican Party’s nomination. Musk is starting a third party from scratch and isn’t running. Musk is the world’s richest man.
He also has become a lightning rod for controversy, beginning with spending $277 million last year to elect President Trump and other Republicans. Then he became the unpopular head of the Department of Government Efficiency. Lately he’s been a gadfly attacking Trump for signing the Big Beautiful Bill adding $3.
4 trillion to federal deficits over the next decade. Whitman didn’t have anywhere near these liabilities at the outset of her candidacy for governor. But there are similarities between the two.
The main one is their shared belief that money is more important in politics than it really is. Certainly, money is needed – lots of it. But as Whitman’s foray showed, it’s not the only thing.
Sh.
