The Public Policy Institute of California is out with one of the most anticipated polls of the California election season today — and the results show that with the clock ticking down on the state’s gubernatorial campaign, the election is anybody’s to win (or lose).
The survey of 1,104 likely voters in the Golden State shows Republican nominee Meg Whitman leading the race by one point. She’s leading Democrat Jerry Brown 38-37. That essentially matches a July PPIC poll that showed Whitman leading 37-34. Whitman has shored up support in several important areas however.
“Independents were divided in July (30% Brown, 28% Whitman, 30% undecided) but have shifted toward Whitman (38% Whitman, 30% Brown, 19% undecided),” the pollster reports. “Whitman is favored more by Republicans (71%) than Brown is by Democrats (63%).”
Other recent polling in the race confirms a close race, though one poll — a CNN/Time survey published yesterday — showed Brown with a nine-point lead. The TPM Poll Average shows the candidates essentially tied, with Whitman leading 45.1-44.7.
Check out the trend lines, which show things are headed for a long night on Nov. 2:
Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.
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