Polls show tight races for attorney general, lieutenant governor
Races for California attorney general and lieutenant governor appear to be tightening as election day nears and undecided voters start to finally make their picks, a Field Poll released Saturday shows.
Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley, a Republican, holds a narrow lead over Democratic opponent Kamala Harris, leading by a slim 39%-38% margin among likely voters in Tuesday’s election, compared with Cooley’s 37%-34% lead in July, the survey found. The pool of undecided voters was 19% statewide.
Among 21% of voters who already have submitted vote-by-mail ballots, Cooley had a 46% to 38% advantage over Harris. In Los Angeles County, home to one in four registered voters in California and a key battleground in the attorney general’s race, Harris held a 43%-37% edge over Cooley, according to the Field Poll.
The Los Angeles County results differ from a Times/USC poll released last week that found Cooley held a 42%-33% advantage over Harris among likely voters in Cooley’s home county. Statewide, Cooley had a 40%-35% edge in that survey.
The Field Poll was conducted by telephone Oct. 14-26 among a random sample of 1,501 registered voters, with an overall 3.2-point error margin.
The Times/USC poll was conducted by telephone Oct. 13-20 among a random sample of 1,501 California voters, with an overall 2.5-point error margin.
The Field Poll showed that in the lieutenant governor’s race, Democratic San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom holds a 42%-37% advantage over Republican Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, a former state senator from Santa Maria appointed to the statewide office in April. Newsom lead by a 43%-34% margin in July. The survey found that 14% of voters remained undecided. The survey showed that Maldonado has made inroads among fellow Latinos, voters who traditionally back Democrats.
Newsom still has 43%-37% advantage among likely Latino voters, the survey found, but more than a third of the Latinos polled backed Maldonado -- close to the level of support that political strategists say a Republican candidate needs to win statewide.
The Times/USC poll found that Newsom carried a 42%-37% advantage statewide, and a 42%-32% edge among Latino voters.
-- Phil Willon
