Whitman contributes another $20 million to her campaign

Meg Whitman has opened up her checkbook again in California's governor race, contributing $20 million more of her own cash to boost her campaign. That brings the GOP hopeful's personal contribution to the race to $141.5 million, more than any other political candidate in history has ever contributed to his or her own campaign.

The latest $20 million, disclosed in a report filed Tuesday night, comes on the heels of a $2.5 million contribution Whitman made to her campaign Thursday. In September, Whitman beat out the previous self-funding record holder: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who contributed $110 million of his own funds to win re-election in 2009.

As of last week, Whitman had spent roughly $140 million — a total that includes her contributions and those from others — on her campaign. Her latest $20 million contribution means that she now has roughly the same amount of money in the bank as Brown, who has spent just over $11 million on the race so far.

The obvious question — which The Upshot seems to ask virtually every week — is how much Whitman is ultimately willing to spend on the race. Recent polls in the race have Democrat Jerry Brown leading Whitman anywhere from 5 to 7 points in the race. That's pretty close, considering Democrats have a major voter registration advantage in the state.

(Pool photo of Whitman at Tuesday night's debate: Rich Pedroncelli/Getty Images)