Eliot Spitzer's $50 Million Question

How, after alienating a good majority of the nation's most powerful financiers, is Eliot Spitzer well on the way to raising $50 million for his New York gubernatorial campaign? While his real-estate developer father largely backed his bid for New York Attorney General, who's bankrolling him this time?

That's the question The Washington Post asks in "Spitzer Makes Run for Money." With $7.9 million already in the coffers (as opposed to $2.4 million in the Pataki camp), the Wall Street crusader is being backed by a range of supporters far and wide. Sidestepping what could have been a dilemma, Spitzer has quite effortlessly succeeded in winning the support of a few hedge funds and Wall Street individuals.

True, traditional Democratic resources, class-action lawyers and Hollywood moguls among them, have also joined the fray. But it's not just New York that wants him to win. People from around the country, are writing checks, too. And a March 23 Zogby International poll has Spitzer eighteen percentage points ahead, by 49% to 31%.

While U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donahue paints Spitzer's efforts as "the most egregious and unacceptable form of intimidation we have seen in this country in modern time," Spitzer continues to lead the way.

As far as taking money from the money men is concerned, Spitzer fundraiser and Skadden Arps partner Nancy A. Lieberman tells the Post the Wall Streeters writing the checks are those who agree with Spitzer that the system needs sunlight shed and better enforcement of existing rules. As for Spitzer's own potential conflict of interest in accepting money from people in the industries he is looking to repair, the Post notes he has returned donations from Donald Trump and KPMG over the past year.