A new four-page mailer savagely attacking GOP gubernatorial candidate Tim Donnelly is being funded by billionaire Charles Munger, Jr., one of the children of Charles Munger, the vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway.
The mailer, headlined, “An Urgent Warning from Gov. Pete Wilson about Candidate Tim Donnelly!” lists various reasons for opposing Donnelly:
- Donnelly’s probation status for taking a loaded gun to Ontario Airport. Donnelly said later he was unaware that the gun was in his bag
- Rep. Darrell Issa’s attacks on Donnelly for accusing rival Neel Kashkari of being sympathetic to Sharia fundamentalist Islamic law
- Kashkari’s endorsements from former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush
Donnelly is still leading in public opinion polls, even though his funding is dwarfed by Kashkari’s. Last week, Munger donated $350,000 into an independent expenditure group to aid Kashkari’s campaign, swelling outside funding for Kashkari to $650,000. The group is prohibited from coordinating its efforts with Kashkari.
Donnelly responded to Munger’s attack by saying, “I think his goal is to destroy the Republican party,” adding that Kashkari’s record included leading the taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailout when he worked as a U.S. Treasury official for President George W. Bush. Donnelly concluded:
I believe [Munger] cannot buy this election, and the fact his money is behind the bank bailout guy — surprise, surprise. I don’t think it surprises anybody. I think what’s going to surprise people is how much money they have wasted that could have been spent to actually win elections for Republicans.
Kashkari said he was excited by Munger’s help, asserting, “We’ll take all the help we can get. And I’m excited other people are motivated by our race and want to share our vision.”