Candidate Tom Campbell Pulls TV Ads In California

The Los Angeles Times leads with a story this morning about how Tom Campbell, a republican candidate for US Senate in California, has been forced to pull his TV ads because his campaign is running out of money. You can read the entire article HERE.  High profile political races in big states like California seem to be increasingly dominated by candidates with immense personal wealth who can 'lend' their campaigns large amounts of their own money. That's precisely what Campbell's opponent, Carly Fiorina, has done.  "Though Campbell raised more money than Fiorina in the period between April 1 and May 19, Fiorina has loaned her campaign an additional $3 million in the last few weeks — bringing her personal contributions to at least $5.5 million," this Los Angeles Times article reads in part. "In reports filed last week, Fiorina had $2.1 million on hand, while Campbell had roughly $400,000. A statewide television buy costs upward of $2 million."


I've met Tom Campbell. He was a professor at Stanford Law School when I was a student there 15 years ago.  While surprisingly soft-spoken for a lecturer and politician, he was clearly a brilliant and thoughtful man. So I went to his office one day and volunteered to work on his next campaign. He very politely turned me down, however, explaining that he had agreed with the school not to recruit students. But even after that, he continued our conversation very cordially for a good long time, almost preventing me from leaving disappointed.  I was very impressed by that.


Tom Campbell has already lost two prior senate bids, and looks headed for defeat again in this one.  In the past his 'professorial' demeanor has been blamed for his perceived inability to connect with voters.  And maybe that's his problem.  Or maybe it's his political positions.  But it sure seems like this time he's simply losing a battle of personal checkbooks.  This trend can't be good for our democracy.