Emerson Poll Puts Xavier Becerra Ahead of Steve Hilton and Tom Steyer in California Governor Race

A new Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics survey released Wednesday put Democrat Xavier Becerra at 19% in the California governor’s race, ahead of Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Tom Steyer at 17% each.

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The same poll said the June 2 primary will decide which two candidates advance to the general election, with the top-two “jungle primary” system sending the top two vote-getters forward regardless of party affiliation.

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In Los Angeles’s mayoral race, the Los Angeles Times reported a separate Emerson poll found Karen Bass with 30% support among likely voters in the June 2 mayoral primary, followed by Spencer Pratt with 22% and Nithya Raman with 20%.

The Los Angeles Times said the poll of 350 likely voters was conducted Saturday and Sunday after a televised debate among Bass, Pratt and Raman, and it gave the results a margin of error of 5%.

Emerson College Polling executive director Spencer Kimball said, “It’s really up for grabs who will be in the second spot,” as the mayoral contest nears its primary date.

Multiple outlets tied Becerra’s rise to the collapse of Rep. Eric Swalwell’s bid, with The Hill saying the race opened after Swalwell suspended his bid last month amid sexual assault allegations that he denied.

The Hill reported that in the Emerson College/Inside California Politics poll, the Democrat polling at 19 percent was ahead of Steve Hilton and Tom Steyer at 17 percent, while Republican sheriff Chad Bianco and former Democratic U.S. Rep. Katie Porter were the only other candidates polling at or above 10 percent.

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In the same Emerson polling, KRON4 said Becerra surged to 19% of voters in the primary, while Hilton dropped to 17.1% and Tom Steyer slipped to 16.6%.

KRON4 also said the poll showed a significant drop in undecided voters to 12.1%, down from 23% in the previous ICP/Emerson poll conducted before last month’s Nexstar/Inside California Politics debate.

In a quote carried by the Desert Sun, Becerra said in an Instagram post, “We’re building real momentum across California,” as the governor’s race tightened around Hilton and Becerra.

Polling coverage also highlighted issue priorities, with KRON4 saying the poll identified the economy as the number one issue for California voters heading into next month’s election, with 42% of likely voters naming it as their top concern.

KRON4 reported housing affordability ranked second at 21%, followed by threats to democracy at 8.5%, and it said views of President Donald Trump’s job were split with 67.6% disapproving among likely voters.

The Desert Sun added that in the Kreate Strategies poll, 21% of voters said taxes and state budget were most important, 20% said economy and jobs, and 17% said trust in government.

In the same Desert Sun report, it said 13% of voters had already cast a ballot for June’s primary, while 40% had filled out their ballot but had not yet returned it, and 24% planned to vote in person on Election Day.

With the primary election day set for June 2, the Los Angeles Times said the top two vote-getters will advance to a Nov. 3 runoff unless a candidate gets more than 50% of the vote.