Raleigh, N.C. – California Attorney General Jerry Brown is up by double digits over both of his potential general election opponents in the gubernatorial race. The man who currently holds that post, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is very unpopular amid a budget crisis.
Brown leads Meg Whitman, 48-36, and Steve Poizner, 48-32. Independents favor Brown over Whitman only 38-35, but 41-31 over Poizner. Whitman and Brown each pull 11% of crossparty support, but Brown pulls 12% of the GOP to Poizner’s 8% of Democrats.
None of the three prospective governors has a positive favorability rating, but Brown’s is by far the best, at 37-39, with Whitman at 24-44 and Poizner 19-43. Whitman is polarizing, with a 12-60 mark with Democrats and 41-26 with the GOP. Poizner suffers from unpopularity in his own party, with almost as many Republicans (43%) as Democrats (48%) having a negative opinion of him. Independents are down on all three by double digits. Republicans are more unfavorable on Brown than Democrats are favorable, but in the horseraces, he retains more of his own party’s support than either Republican does.
Only 20% of California voters approve of Schwarzenegger’s job performance, with 64% disapproving. In a rare finding, Democrats’ and Republicans’ views are almost identical.
In an interesting pop culture question, more voters, 29%, are fans of a baseball team outside California or are unsure of their favorite team than are fans of any of the five teams in the state. The Dodgers come out most popular, at 23%, followed by the Giants (18%), the Angels and A’s (each 11%), and the Padres (8%), who are currently in first place in the NL West over the Dodgers and Giants.
“Jerry Brown looks to be in good shape to return to the governorship 27 years after he left it,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling.
PPP surveyed 921 registered California voters from May 21st to 23rd. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.2%. Other factors, such as refusal to be interviewed and weighting, may introduce additional error that is more difficult to quantify.
If you would like an interview regarding this release, please contact Dean Debnam at (888) 621-6988 or 919-880-4888.
Topline results are below. Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.
Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 20%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 64%
Not Sure…………………………………………………. 16%
Q2 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Jerry Brown?
Favorable ………….. 37%
Unfavorable……….. 39%
Not Sure……………. 24%
Q3 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Steve Poizner?
Favorable ………….. 19%
Unfavorable……….. 43%
Not Sure……………. 39%
Q4 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Meg Whitman?
Favorable ………….. 24%
Unfavorable……….. 44%
Not Sure……………. 33%
Q5 If the candidates for Governor were Republican
Steve Poizner and Democrat Jerry Brown, who
would you vote for?
Steve Poizner …………………………………………. 32%
Jerry Brown…………………………………………….. 48%
Undecided………………………………………………. 19%
Q6 If the candidates for Governor were Republican
Meg Whitman and Democrat Jerry Brown, who
would you vote for?
Meg Whitman………………………………………….. 36%
Jerry Brown…………………………………………….. 48%
Undecided………………………………………………. 16%
Q7 Is your favorite major league baseball team the
Los Angeles Angels, the Los Angeles Dodgers,
the Oakland Athletics, the San Diego Padres,
the San Francisco Giants, or someone else?
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim………………… 11%
Los Angeles Dodgers……………………………….. 23%
Oakland Athletics…………………………………….. 11%
San Diego Padres……………………………………. 8%
San Francisco Giants ………………………………. 18%
Someone else/Not sure ……………………………. 29%
Q8 Who did you vote for President last year?
John McCain…………………………………………… 36%
Barack Obama………………………………………… 56%
Someone Else/Don’t Remember……………… 8%
Q9 If you are a liberal, press 1. If a moderate,
press 2. If a conservative, press 3.
Liberal ……………………………………………………. 23%
Moderate………………………………………………… 43%
Conservative…………………………………………… 34%
Q10 If you are a woman, press 1, if a man, press 2.
Woman……………………………………………………. 52%
Man…………………………………………………………. 48%
Q11 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If you are a
Republican, press 2. If you are an independent
or identify with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 46%
Republican……………………………………………… 33%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 21%
Q12 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If African American, press 3. If Asian, press 4.
If other, press 5.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 20%
White …………………………………………………….. 61%
African American …………………………………….. 8%
Asian……………………………………………………… 6%
Other……………………………………………………… 5%
Q13 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1 now. If
you are 30 to 45, press 2. If you are 46 to 65,
press 3. If older, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 12%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 26%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 41%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 21%
