Field Research is out with their first general election poll of California’s Senate race since last month’s top-two primary, and they give Attorney General Kamala Harris a 39-24 edge against Rep. Loretta Sanchez, a fellow Democrat. The only other recent poll we’ve seen here came from SurveyMonkey, and they had Harris leading 47-22.
Harris has more money and support from Democratic leaders than Sanchez. If Sanchez wants to win, she’ll need to overwhelmingly take conservative voters, while still holding onto enough Democrats to be competitive in this solidly blue state. However, Field underscores how challenging Sanchez’s task will be. Among Republicans, it’s Harris who leads, and by a 28-16 score. To make things tougher for Sanchez, another 31 percent of Republican voters say that they’re just going to skip this all-Democratic contest.
Sanchez has been reaching out to GOP leaders, and she’s gained a few endorsements for her trouble. On Thursday, Sanchez appeared on conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt’s program, and he endorsed her shortly thereafter. Last month, ex-Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan also backed her. But Sanchez is going to need a lot more help if she’s going to win in November in this expensive state.