CA-GOV

PPIC Poll: CA-GOV Is Anybody's Game

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 30, 2010, 2:55PM

Meg Whitman (R), gubernatorial candidate in California.

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.

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CA-GOV

Spanish-Language Ad Hits Whitman Over Undocumented Maid Issue (VIDEO)

Eric Lach | September 30, 2010, 2:52PM

Ad from an SEIU-backed organization, "Meg Whitman - 9 Años"

The SEIU-backed Cambiando California group wasted no time turning California Republican gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman's ex-maid issue into a campaign ad.

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CA-SEN

CNN/Time Polls: California Love For Boxer, Brown

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 29, 2010, 6:17PM

California Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown

Two new polls from CNN/Time are giving Democrats in California reason to celebrate. The party's nominees for governor and Senate -- both facing wealthy self-funders -- are ahead by nine points, the polls find.

Incumbent Sen. Barbara Boxer leads Republican nominee Carly Fiorina by margin of 52-43, the poll finds. That's the same margin that CNN/Time reports Jerry Brown (D) is ahead of Meg Whitman (R) in the gubernatorial race.

Compared with CNN/Time's last poll of the races, both sets of numbers show the Democrats gaining momentum. Boxer led by four in the last poll, and Brown trailed by two.

The TPM Poll Average for the Senate campaign shows Boxer ahead 48.0-44.3. The TPM Poll Average for the gubernatorial fight shows a much closer contest, with Whitman ahead 45.8-45.5.

Both CNN/Time polls were conducted among likely voters early this week. The margin of error for each is 3.5%.

CA-GOV

Billionaire Meg Whitman In First CA-Gov Debate: 'I Don't Think You Can Buy Elections'

Christina Bellantoni | September 28, 2010, 10:53PM

California gubernatorial candidates Jerry Brown (D) and Meg Whitman (R)

Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown clashed tonight in their first gubernatorial debate, with Brown charging Whitman only wanted to help billionaires like herself and Whitman slamming Brown as beholden to public employee unions. The two sparred for an hour in a debate that focused almost exclusively on the Golden State's economy and how they'd fix gridlock in Sacramento.

Moderators of the debate asked Whitman about charges she'd tried to "buy" California votes by spending more than $119 million so far, and with five weeks still to go before election day. The governor's race in California is usually battled on the television airwaves, and Whitman's ads have been bombarding voters for months.

"I don't think you can buy elections, I think Californians are too smart," Whitman said. "What you can do is get your message out."

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CA-GOV

Los Angeles Times Poll: Jerry Brown Leads Meg Whitman By 5 Points

Eric Kleefeld | September 27, 2010, 9:47AM

CA Gov candidate Jerry Brown (D)

Yet another poll, this one from the Los Angeles Times and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner (D), shows Democrat Jerry Brown with the lead in the California gubernatorial race against Republican Meg Whitman.

The numbers: Brown 49%, Whitman 44%. The survey of likely voters has a ±3.3% margin of error. The previous LAT/GQR survey from all the way back in late May put Brown ahead by 44%-38%. However, there have been a lot of polls since then showing Whitman ahead, after she put in so much of her own money that she has become the biggest self-financing candidate ever. As such, the TPM Poll Average shows Whitman still ahead, but only by a slim margin of 45.9%-44.8%.

However, other recent polls have also shown Brown pulling ahead or in a tied race.

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CA-GOV

Polls: Brown And Whitman Remain Close In CA-GOV Race

Marc Kilstein | September 23, 2010, 10:36AM

Meg Whitman (R), and Jerry Brown (D)

Two new polls of the California gubernatorial race are out, and continue to show a tight race between Democratic state Attorney General Jerry Brown and Republican former eBay CEO Meg Whitman. A SurveyUSA poll shows Brown leading Whitman by three points, 46%-43%, while a Field Poll has the contest deadlocked, 41%-41%.

SurveyUSA's new findings paint a very different picture than the firm's September 1 poll of the race -- Whitman led in that survey, 47%-40%. There has not been a Field Poll conducted on the contest since a July 5 survey saw Brown leading 44%-43%. Yesterday, a Rasmussen poll produced a similarly narrow margin in the race, finding the Democrat leading 47%-46%. While Whitman led every mainstream poll conducted from August 11-September 11, Brown has not been seen trailing in a poll since.

The latest SurveyUSA poll's margin of error is ±4.0 percentage points, while the Field Poll's is ±4.1 percentage points. The TPM Poll Average still has Whitman ahead in the contest, leading 45.8%-44.4%.

For more on the race, check out TPMDC's full coverage here.

CA-GOV

Rasmussen Poll: Jerry Brown Up 1 In CA-GOV Race

Marc Kilstein | September 22, 2010, 12:13PM

Meg Whitman (R), and Jerry Brown (D)

A new Rasmussen poll of the California gubernatorial race finds Democratic state Attorney General Jerry Brown leading Republican former eBay CEO Meg Whitman 47%-46%.

When Rasmussen looked at the race on September 6, Whitman was ahead by three points, 48%-45%. A PPP survey released yesterday produced a five-point lead for the Democratic nominee, up 47%-42% on Whitman. Fox News' September 18 poll had found the two candidates deadlocked at 45%-45%. Prior to these three new surveys, Whitman was leading in the polls, having been found on top of the contest in all six mainstream polls conducted from August 11-September 11.

Rasmussen latest poll's margin of error is ±4.0 percentage points. The TPM Poll Average still has Whitman ahead in the contest, leading 46.7%-44.7%.

For more on the race, check out TPMDC's full coverage here.

CA-GOV

PPP Poll: Jerry Brown Ahead By 5 Points In CA-GOV Race

Eric Kleefeld | September 21, 2010, 1:28PM

Meg Whitman (R), and Jerry Brown (D)

The new survey of the California gubernatorial race from Public Policy Polling (D) gives Democrat Jerry Brown a five-point lead over Republican Meg Whitman.

The numbers: Brown 47%, Whitman 42%. In the previous PPP survey from all the way back in late July, Brown led by 46%-40%. The survey of likely voters has a ±3.8% margin of error.

Other polls recently have given Whitman the lead -- thus the TPM Poll Average puts her ahead 46.2%-44.5%. However, there might be some actual movement in Brown's favor, such as a Fox News poll today that showed the race as a tie after Whitman had previously been ahead just last week.

In this PPP poll, Brown's personal favorable rating is at only 42%, with 45% unfavorable. However, Whitman is even worse at 35%-49% -- a sign of possible over-saturation with the voters after she beat the record for the biggest self-financing candidate ever.

2010 elections

Fox News Poll: CA-SEN And CA-GOV Races Are Very, Very Close

Marc Kilstein | September 21, 2010, 11:44AM

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Senate candidate Carly Fiorina (R-CA)

Fox News is out with new numbers on the California Senate and gubernatorial races this morning, and both races are looking tight... really, really tight.

The survey, conducted by Rasmussen offshoot Pulse Opinion Research through an automated dialing system, finds Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer leading Republican former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina by the narrowest of margins in the Senate race, 47%-46%. In the state's gubernatorial race, Democratic state Attorney General Jerry Brown and Republican former eBay CEO Meg Whitman are deadlocked, 45%-45%.

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2010 elections

Meg Whitman: Biggest. Self-Financer. Ever.

Eric Kleefeld | September 16, 2010, 8:42AM

Meg Whitman

Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, the Republican nominee for governor of California, has now now crossed a historic threshold: As the San Francisco Chronicle reports, she has just put in another $15 million of her own money into the campaign -- bringing her total to $119 million and making her the biggest self-financing candidate ever.

Whitman's $119 million puts her past the previous record-holder, New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I), who spent $110 million to be narrowly re-elected to a third term in 2009.

As we've previously noted, Whitman has been vastly out-spending the Democratic nominee, state Attorney General and ex-governor Jerry Brown. For his part, Brown has recently gone on the air with an ad touting his accomplishments from when he was previously governor, from 1975-1983 -- an interesting move to pitch himself as a reliable and steady hand, in an environment that is widely seen as anti-incumbent and anti-establishment.

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CA-GOV

Fox News Poll: Whitman Leads Brown By Six Points In CA-GOV Race

Eric Kleefeld | September 14, 2010, 4:20PM

CA-GOV candidates Jerry Brown (D) and Meg Whitman (R-CA)

The new Fox News poll of the California gubernatorial race shows Republican former eBay CEO Meg Whitman continuing to lead the Democratic nominee, former governor and current state Attorney General Jerry Brown.

The numbers: Whitman 49%, Brown 43%. The survey of likely voters has a ±3% margin of error. There is no prior Fox News poll of this race, but this poll was conducted through an offshoot of Rasmussen, Pulse Opinion Research. The previous Rasmussen poll from last week put Whitman ahead by 48%-45%.

The TPM Poll Average gives Whitman a lead of 46.5%-44.1%.

CA-GOV

Jerry Brown Jabs At Bill Clinton Over Whitman Ad, Apologizes (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | September 14, 2010, 11:02AM

CA-GOV candidate Jerry Brown (D), former President Bill Clinton

Jerry Brown is now apologizing for taking a shot at Bill Clinton in the course of the California gubernatorial race, after his Republican opponent launched an ad using 18-year-old footage of Clinton attacking Brown when they ran against each other for president.

The Whitman ad showed Clinton accusing Brown of raising taxes when he was previously governor of California in the 1970s and early 1980s. Brown responded in an interesting way, with some amateur video to match.

"I mean Clinton's a nice guy, but who ever said he always told the truth?" Brown joked to a crowd of supporters, which prompted them to cheer a joke at the expense of their party's former president. "You remember, right? There's that whole story there about, did he or didn't he. Okay, I did -- I did not have taxes with this state! So let's be clear about that. Thank you very much."

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CA-GOV

Meg Whitman Uses Bill Clinton To Slam Jerry Brown (VIDEO)

Christina Bellantoni | September 9, 2010, 2:31PM

Meg Whitman Ad Uses 18-Year-Old Footage To Slam Jerry Brown

Republican gubernatorial hopeful Meg Whitman is using former President Bill Clinton in a new double-whammy ad starring the most popular Democrat in the country and trying to suggest to California voters that Jerry Brown is a relic from years past.

Whitman's new television ad features Clinton attacking Brown during one of their 1992 presidential primary debate. "He doesn't tell people the truth," Clinton says, pointing. There's little love lost between the two Democrats.

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CA-GOV

CNN/Time Poll: Whitman Ahead In CA-GOV

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 8, 2010, 6:16PM

CA-GOV candidates Jerry Brown (D) and Meg Whitman (R-CA)

A new poll from CNN/Time out this evening confirms what past polls in California have been showing for a while now: the gubernatorial race is essentially a dead heat. Meg Whitman has a slight lead in the poll, just as she has in some other recent polling pitting her against CA Attorney General Jerry Brown (D). It's not much of a lead, mind you -- Whitman leads by just 48-46 in the new poll -- but it's enough to suggest her summertime ad blitz aimed at building up her moderate bona fides with California voters has been fairly successful.

Brown is now on the air taking Whitman on, and promising to expose her as too conservative and too inexperienced for California voters weary of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) reign. The TPM Poll Average shows Brown begins to make that case running basically neck-and-neck with Whitman. She leads the average 46.0-44.2.

The CNN/Time poll of 866 registered voters was conducted Sept. 2-7. The margin of error is 3.5%.

CA-GOV

Rasmussen Poll: Whitman Has Slight Lead In CA-GOV

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 8, 2010, 11:20AM

CA Gov candidates Jerry Brown (D) and Meg Whitman (R)

The California gubernatorial race is now running at full-speed, and a new poll shows Republican Meg Whitman is running just ahead of Democratic nominee Jerry Brown.

The Rasmussen survey of 750 likely voters in California shows Whitman leading Brown 48-45. The poll has a margin of error of 4%. In the last Rasmussen poll of the contest, conducted Aug. 24, Whitman led 51-43, suggesting independent campaigns run by unions and other Brown-supporting groups aimed at tearing down Whitman while she ran alone after the GOP primary may have had some success.

Now Whitman has Brown to contend with as well. He just launched his first television ad of the general election, part of a full-scale campaign against the billionaire Whitman that he's promised supporters for months. Since winning the primary, Whitman has been using her considerable personal resources to hammer Brown and build up her own Obama-style campaign operation through the summer, and now her plans will be put to the test as Brown ramps up.

The TPM Poll Average shows Whitman ahead 45.6-43.9.

CA-GOV

Jerry Brown Finally Goes On TV In CA-GOV Race (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | September 6, 2010, 11:29AM

CA Atty. General Jerry Brown (D)

Jerry Brown, the Democratic nominee for Governor of California and an almost unbelievably long-term fixture in the state's political scene, has told nervous supporters for weeks now that when the time comes, he'll roll out his full-scale plan to battle Republican nominee/billionaire Meg Whitman. Today, it seems, was the day he was waiting for.

Brown launched his first TV ad of the contest, a feel-good spot that hearkens back to Brown's term as governor in the 1970s and early '80s. Brown has said that even the insider-weary electorate of 2010 will want to return California's top job to someone with (more than a little) experience after ultimate outsider Arnold Schwarzenegger's term at the helm.

Polls have not borne that theory out so far, though. Whitman, running basically alone on TV until now, has steadily built momentum through the summer and is now running neck-and-neck with her Democratic opponent. The TPM Poll Average for the race shows Whitman ahead 44.8-43.8.

But to hear Brown tell it, he's just putting his strategy into play now. And the new TV ad premiering today, his campaign says, is the first step on the road to Brown's triumphant return to the governor's office he left in 1983.

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CA-GOV

SurveyUSA Poll: Whitman Leads Brown By 47%-40% In CA-GOV Race

Eric Kleefeld | September 3, 2010, 11:14AM

California gubernatiorial candidate Meg Whitman (R-CA)

The new SurveyUSA poll of the California gubernatorial race gives Republican Meg Whitman an expanding lead over Democrat Jerry Brown.

The numbers: Whitman 47%, Brown 40%. The survey of likely voters has a ±4.2% margin of error. In the previous Survey USA poll from three weeks ago, Whitman was only ahead by a narrow 44%-43%.

The TPM Poll Average shows Whitman taking a narrow lead of 44.8%-43.8%.

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