The latest news out of California:
As California voters begin paying more attention to the upcoming June 5 primary, Democrat Gavin Newsom is pulling into a strong lead position in the race for governor as a pair of Republican candidates gain strength, according to a new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California.
“There’s now a big gap between (Newsom) and everyone else,” said Mark Baldassare, the institute’s CEO and director of the poll.
The lieutenant governor, who has long been seen as the front-runner to replace termed-out Gov. Jerry Brown, has the support of 28 percent of the state’s likely voters, double the 14 percent for Republican businessman John Cox.
The new numbers are anything but good news for Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa. The former Los Angeles mayor, who trailed Newsom by only 2 percentage points, 23 percent to 21 percent, in the institute’s January survey, saw his support skid to 12 percent. That puts him between Cox and GOP Assemblyman Travis Allen (10 percent) in the clash for the second ballot spot. The top two candidates advance to the November election, regardless of party.
Democrats John Chiang (6 percent) and Delaine Eastin (5 percent) round out the top contenders.
“The biggest change in the poll is probably the number of people who now are paying attention to news about the governor’s race,” Baldassare said. “People seem to be getting focused about what the candidates are doing and saying, and that’s helped Newsom and Cox.”
Nearly half of California’s likely voters are now following the governor’s race at least fairly closely, a jump of 18 percentage points since January.
That’s helped Cox, who was at 7 percent in the previous poll. He has been focusing his advertising on Republicans and talking about lower taxes and less regulation, “which resonates with some of the voters,” Baldassare said.
But while Newsom seems to be in a strong position to finish in the top two, Baldassare said, the tight grouping of the rest of the pack and the 24 percent of voters who haven’t picked a candidate means second place is very much in play.
Some other notes from the poll:
The poll also found:
- Latino voters are more likely to support Villaraigosa over Newsom, while white voters are more likely to support Newsom.
- U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 84, is well ahead of state Sen. Kevin de León as she seeks her fifth full term in Congress. She is leading the former Senate leader 42 percent to his 16 percent.
- If the election were today, a majority of likely voters – 53 percent – say they would vote for or lean toward the Democratic candidate.
- Half of Californians approve of Gov. Jerry Brown's job performance, while just 30 percent of Californians approve of Trump's job performance.
- A narrow majority of voters favor construction of the state's high-speed rail system (53 percent are for it compared to 43 percent against it).
- Two-thirds of likely voters voiced support for the state's $3 billion affordable housing bond, which will go before voters in November.
Click here for the full results.
It’s anybody’s game for the second place spot but it’s clear Newsom is positioned to win and he’s the best choice to become Governor. Click here to donate and get involved with Newsom’s campaign.