The latest poll in California’s governor race Friday shows Democratic former U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra maintaining his lead and a tightening contest for second place between Republican former political commentator Steve Hilton and billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer.
The Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll showed Becerra with 25% support among likely voters, followed by Hilton with 21% and Steyer with 19%. The two candidates who receive the most votes, regardless of party affiliation, will compete against each other in the November general election.
“This has been a wide-open and very unusual race,” IGS co-director Eric Schickler said in a statement about the poll. “While voter preferences have clarified some since our last poll, there is still a fair amount of uncertainty about which of the top three candidates will make the November ballot. Much now depends on turnout and whether those who prefer one of the lower polling candidates end up tilting toward one of the polling leaders.”
The poll was conducted May 19-24 among more than 5,000 likely California voters, with a margin of error of about 2 percentage points.
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