Meg Whitman Pours $19 Million Into Campaign

Campaign insiders say Meg Whitman, Republican candidate for governor of California, is willing to finance the the lion's share of the campaign herself, if needed.

The Whitman Campaign is releasing their 2009 fundraising numbers on Monday.

A campaign source passed them along today.

The Whitman Campaign raised $3.5 million in the last quarter of 2009 and 10.2 million for the entire year.

This is in addition to the $19 million  that Whitman contributed to her own campaign in 2009.

Whitman is the former CEO of EBay and has amassed a considerable fortune.

Political experts estimate that it will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $150 million to run a statewide campaign in California all the way through the general election.

Whitman Camp insiders acknowledge that Whitman is willing to spend up to 150 million dollars of her own if she needs to.

Her main Republican rival is California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, who is reported to have raised $1.2 million during the last quarter of 2009 and heads into 2010 with $17.5 million in cash on hand.

Prior to his political career, Poizner was a high tech entrepreneur in Silicon valley and it's been reported that he has also contributed heavily to his own campaign, to the tune of $15 million last month.

The winner will likely face Jerry Brown, the current California Attorney General, former Governor of California, and former Presidential candidate.

The first Republican debate takes place in southern California on March 15th. The GOP primary takes place on June 8th.