California Governor Candidate Meg Whitman Says 'We're Going to Win'

Oct. 25, 2010— -- With eight days left until Californians head to voting booths, the Republican candidate for governor, Meg Whitman, says she's confident of victory even though she trails Democrat Jerry Brown in the most recent polling.

"We're going to win this," said Meg Whitman in an interview today with ABC's Diane Sawyer.

Whitman has spent some $141 million of her own money for a fighting chance at the governor's mansion, but the former eBay CEO is still 13 points behind Brown in the latest Los Angeles Times poll.

"Is that a hit in the chest?" Sawyer asked as they rode Whitman's campaign bus.

"No, because the L.A. Times poll is biased and it's bunk," Whitman replied. "Every year, the L.A. Times comes out with a poll about a week before the election that's very heavily skewed to the candidate they choose. Who did the L.A. Times endorse? Jerry Brown."

Watch "World News with Diane Sawyer" this week for more from California.

Whitman said that her own campaign's polling puts the race much closer.

"Maybe I'm a point or two behind," Whitman said. "What's happening in California, and you can see it in the rest of the country, these polls are bouncing because people are unsure about what to do."

California voters have certainly had no shortage of people telling them what to do. With record spending on advertising, the airwaves have been filled with political messages for months, and even for billionaire Whitman, $141 million is a lot to spend on the race.

"Is it possible that at some point, it's just too much money?" Sawyer asked.

"Well, I think that people need to understand the unions...pour money into politics in this state. They run Sacramento," Whitman said. "Because I have invested my own money, I don't owe anyone anything. I only owe the voters of California."

With all the ad spending, the race has turned ugly at times.

"I've been called a Nazi. I've been called a whore. I've been called a liar," Whitman said. "And I think the reason is that Jerry Brown can't run on his record. His record as governor was terrible. His record in Oakland was terrible."

Brown apologized for an incident caught on tape in which one of his staffers suggested calling Whitman a "whore" in a campaign ad. His campaign manager later called it "salty" language.