CBS 5 Poll: Dems, Prop 19 Lead Tight California Races
(CBS 5) - California Democrats clung to narrow leads in three high-profile state-wide races as early voting began, according to the latest exclusive SurveyUSA polling for CBS 5. The poll also found increasing support for Proposition 19, which would legalize marijuana.
Download Full Poll Results (.pdf)
In the race for U.S. Senator, incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer held onto a 46% to 43% advantage. That lead is unchanged from a poll released 12 days ago and within the poll's margin of error of ± 3.9%.
In the race for the open Governor's seat, Democrat Jerry Brown inched slightly higher in the latest poll, where he holds a 47% to 43% advantage. The percentage of Brown backers is up a point since the previous poll. The numbers for Republican Meg Whitman remained flat.
In the race for Lieutenant Governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom was edging incumbent Republican Abel Maldonado 42% to 37%. The margin tied the largest lead for Newsom in the four polls on this election by SurveyUSA.
Proposition 19 passed in the latest poll by a 7-point margin, 48% to 41%. In a poll 12 days ago, "Yes" led by 5 points. Support for marijuana legalization is rising and opposition declining among voters age 50 to 64, who currently support Proposition 19 by a 12-point margin, up from 5 points 12 days ago.
The CBS 5 poll was conducted by SurveyUSA, which interviewed 670 likely California voters on Sept. 30th and Oct 3rd.
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