California governor’s race takes unexpected turn as new numbers reveal major voter shift.
The contest to succeed two-term Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom was thrown into disarray earlier this year following the collapse of former Bay Area Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell’s campaign.
Following Swalwell’s departure, recent polls showed Republican Steve Hilton as the overall leader. However, an Inside California Politics/Emerson College Polling survey released Wednesday shows Hilton has been overtaken by Democrat Xavier Becerra as the new frontrunner.
Becerra, a former California attorney general and U.S. secretary of health and human services in the Biden administration, has surged in the wake of Swalwell’s exit. The new poll shows him leading the race overall, with 19% of voters backing him in the primary.
Hilton, a former Fox News commentator who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, remains the leading Republican but has dropped to second overall at 17.1%.
Billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer, who was running close to Becerra in several recent polls, has slipped to third place with 16.6% support.
The other leading Republican in the race, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, has fallen to fourth place, with 10.7% of likely primary voters backing him. He is followed closely by former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter at 10.3%.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan sits in sixth place with 7.9%, followed by former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at 4%. California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond has remained largely consistent across recent polls, hovering around 1%.
The poll also shows a significant drop in undecided voters. Just 12.1% of respondents now say they are undecided, down from 23% in the previous ICP/Emerson poll conducted before last month’s Nexstar/Inside California Politics debate.
Another 1.1% of voters in the most recent survey said they would support “someone else” in the June 2 primary.
QUESTION
Do you think this poll result will change the outcome of the election?
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