Read the poll results in detail here.
December 26, 2017 - Two Democrats sit atop the crowded field of candidates vying to succeed Jerry Brown as California’s governor in next June’s top-two primary election. The latest Berkeley IGS Poll finds Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom capturing
26% of likely voter preferences, followed by former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, at 17%. Two Republicans, businessman John Cox and Assemblyman Travis Allen, trail with 9% each. If the hierarchy of voter preferences found in this poll continue, it would result in the state’s first all-Democratic candidate gubernatorial election in the fall. One of the major features characterizing preferences in the governor’s race is the contrasting demographic profile of the voters backing the two leading Democratic candidates. Newsom’s strongest base of support comes from voters living in Northern California, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area, while Villaraigosa is preferred among voters in Southern California, especially Los Angeles County. Newsom leads among white non-Hispanics and among U.S.-born voters, while Villaraigosa’s holds a big edge among the state’s rapidly growing Latino voting electorate and among voters of all nationalities born outside the United States. Newsom is also preferred by voters at the upper end of the income scale, while Villaraigosa has the advantage among those at the lower end of the scale.
It is also possible that the fall general election for U.S. Senate will pit two Democrats against one another, since no prominent Republicans have yet to enter the race. However, incumbent Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein will be facing at least one prominent Democratic challenger, state Senate President Kevin de Leon.When the two are paired in a U.S. Senate trial heat, the current poll finds Feinstein leading de Leon 41% to 27%. Feinstein’s relatively modest lead is somewhat surprising given that the Senator is nearly universally known by voters, while relatively few of those polled know enough about de Leon to offer an opinion. Jack Citrin Center for Public Opinion Research Institute of Governmental Studies124-126 Moses Hall University of California Berkeley, CA 94720 Tel: 510-642-6835 Email: igs@berkeley.edu
Source: UC Berkeley
