CBS 5 Poll: Marijuana Proponents May Tilt Election For Boxer
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) - Voters who strongly support legalizing marijuana in California may also be tilting the vote in the U.S. Senate race slightly in favor of incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer, according to a new KPIX-TV CBS 5 poll released Tuesday.
The poll, conducted for CBS 5 by SurveyUSA, found marijuana legalization proponents are highly motivated to turnout and vote in the upcoming midterm election—and this voting block tends to favor Democrats.
Download Full Poll Results (.pdf)
The poll finds Boxer leading Republican challenger Carly Fiorina by 46% to 44%, but since Boxer's two-point lead is within the poll's 4-point margin of error, the race remains too close to call.
The poll found Proposition 19, the marijuana measure, leading 44% to 40%, which was its strongest showing to date in CBS 5 polling.
In the governor's race, Democrat Jerry Brown leads Republican Meg Whitman 47% to 40%. This was the lowest level of support shown for Whitman since CBS 5 tracking polls began back in July.
For lieutenant governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom leads incumbent Republican Abel Maldonado 43% to 37%, virtually unchanged from four prior CBS 5 polls going back to August.
This latest CBS 5 poll of 621 likely and actual California voters was conducted from Oct. 15-18.
