Exclusive Poll Shows California Voters Are Fired Up For June Election
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) -- An exclusive statewide KPIX5-SurveyUSA Poll out Tuesday shows California's gubernatorial race is heating up.
Voters appear to be fired up.
One thing that really stands out is how many people say they are certain to vote in this primary.
57 percent of registered voters say they will vote in June.
That's a huge number for a primary like this one, where there's no presidential candidate on the ballot.
In fact, California hasn't seen numbers like this in forty years. Voter turnout for this election could be remarkable.
When it comes to who they'll vote for, our poll shows the top two Democratic candidates for governor are in a statistical dead heat.
Gavin Newsom has 21 percent of the vote and Antonio Villaraigosa has 18 percent.
John Chiang trails at 9 percent.
The top two Republican candidates -- John Cox and Travis Allen -- have 15 and 10 percent of the vote respectively.
And this poll was taken before new ads hit the airwaves, highlighting Newsom's past scandals when he was mayor of San Francisco.
Supporters of John Chiang slammed Newsom with an Internet ad about a relationship he had with his friend's wife, Ruby Turk.
And a report this week in The Sacramento Bee revealed Newsom never went to rehab for problems with alcohol, despite reports that he had received treatment.
Meanwhile, 84-year-old Democrat Dianne Feinstein remains the leader for California's Senate seat, polling at 39 percent.
But Democrat Kevin de Leon, once thought to be her biggest challenger has only 8 percent, behind Republican Patrick Little, who has 18 percent.
Another hot topic is whether California National Guard troops should be sent to the border, and what they should be doing there.
The poll found that 30 percent say troops should patrol for those crossing, while 36 percent say they should focus on gangs and drugs and 27 percent say troops should not be sent at all.
On another topic, voters may get a chance to weigh in on a measure to split California into three separate states.
It's backed by Bay Area billionaire Tom Draper.
Only 17 percent said they would vote yes, to divide the state, while the overwhelming majority at 72 percent, said they would vote no. Ten percent remain undecided.
This initiative is different than CalExit, where California splits from the United States.
Cal-3 is the formation of three separate states, all within the United States of America.