California Governor Race Heats Up, Poll Shows Whitman Leading
The California Governor Race is heating up, as Republican Meg Whitman is closing in on rival candidate Ex-Governor Jerry Brown.
It seems her lavish advertising campaign has paid off and the billionaire candidate is leading 46 to 43 percent against her rival according to a Field Poll, with the margin of error a minimal 3.7 percentage points. The story is the same in the Primaries, where Whitman seems way ahead of her rival state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner in the GOP primary. These are ominous signs for both Poizner and Brown, who need to assert their candidature in a more responsible manner.
Poizner's advertising campaign worth $19 million against Whitman has failed to win any favors, with the latter’s poll numbers still on the favorable pitch. The 53-year-old Whitman is planning to target both Poizner and Brown together.
The 71-year-old Brown, who holds lead in the Bay Area and few parts of northern California, is in a fundraising mode. Whitman is a favorite for Los Angeles County voters, which has so far been a Democrat stronghold.
Field Poll Director Mark DiCamillo said, "The key question for Brown is: Do you start to engage her now - or at least soon? It could be perilous to wait, as Steve Poizner is finding out."
While Poizner has shown an inclination toward conservative attitude, particularly on immigration issues, and believes that undocumented immigrants do not have the right to education and health care services funded by the state, even this stand has failed to see any support even from the anti-immigration voters. Resultantly, Whitman leads Poizner by 63 to 13 percent among the surveyed white non-Hispanics.
According to the Poizner camp, the dynamic has remained the same, which is clear from Poizner’s spokesman Jarrod Agen’s statement, "The dynamic hasn't changed. When Republican voters start tuning in to the election, they will hear a lot about Steve and his positions."
On the other hand, Brown campaign spokesman Sterling Clifford believes, "Meg Whitman has been campaigning for a year and spent $40 million, and what it's gotten her is that she is in a dead heat with Jerry Brown."
Time is favoring Whitman. Let’s see who emerges victorious!
