Poll: Feinstein keeps a strong lead in the California race

SAN FRANCISCO – Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) Saw his advantage in his race against State Senator Kevin de León, who has been halved since July. But she is maintaining a double-digit lead in her bid for a fifth term, despite being the recent target of bipartisan criticism regarding her handling of allegations of sexual assault against Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

According to a new poll released Wednesday night by the Public Policy Institute of California, which followed the high-level race between Feinstein, 85, and Leon, 50, the Progressive Democratic author of California's controversial state bill sanctuary. The survey showed that Feinstein was ahead of De León by 11 points among likely voters – 40% to 29% – with 8% still undecided.

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Although solid, this margin on De León, which obtained the approval of the California Democratic Party's board of directors at the beginning of the year, has fallen sharply since July, while Feinstein led with 22 points, ie 46 to 24% .

Pollster Mark Baldassare, president and CEO of PPIC, said De León's success in the polls was a result of his increased visibility in California, where he caught accusations of "lack of leadership" last week. Donald Trump's candidate for the Supreme Court. In saying that she should have warned the FBI earlier about the letter she received in July from the accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, a professor in Palo Alto, of León claimed that this It was only one example of Feinstein's shyness problems.

"I think León went around California, talking a lot about his efforts to resist the Trump administration and climate change," Baldassare told POLITICO. "Obviously, León has a message that has touched many Democratic voters today, and his approach and manner of speaking about what is happening in Washington reflect some of their frustration."

On the other hand, Baldassare said, "Senator Feinstein is in Washington most of the time, and he is really more focused on his current job. But it's important to keep in mind that if the advance, once very important, is not as important, it's still double-digit. "

Baldassare said that as the incumbent, Feinstein looks particularly strong in the race – 52% to 37% – if the poll takes into account the majority of registered Republicans who say they will not vote in the race democrat against democrat.

And although she was recently criticized by Republican and Trump leaders, as well as by De León, for her role in the Kavanaugh affair, Feinstein seems solidly stationed with a wide range of California voters, Baldassare said.

The poll showed that Democratic voters tend to give it a ratio of 2 to 1 (60 to 30%) and that it is in the lead among women (46 to 30%), men (34 to 28 %) and white voters (40% to 25%) and those of other racial / ethnic groups (41% to 32%). While Latino voters are probably very divided (40% for Feinstein, 38% for León), Feinstein is also in the lead of likely voters aged 18 to 44 (41% to 33%) and among those aged 45 and over (40% to 27%).

The poll also followed the California governor's race, where Democrat lieutenant Gavin Newsom retains a double-digit lead, 51% to 39%, among likely voters against Republican John Cox, with 7% still undecided. has been cut in half since July.

Cox "has spoken less about the fact that he is a Republican approved by Trump," said Baldassare. "He did not have to talk about solutions to these problems because Newsom largely ignores him."

The poll also had bad news for California Republicans: it showed that the majority of potential state voters oppose proposal 6 on the November poll – the repeal of the gas tax funded by Governor Jerry Brown 52% to 39%, with 8% undecided.

Republican party leaders pushed back the measure, hoping in part that their call for the repeal of the gasoline tax would boost the GOP's turnout in California, where at least seven besieged Republican members would face tight races that could help Congress control democrats. Baldassare noted that the survey showed a worrying sign: 50% of GOP voters are opposed to the measure.

Another surprise, a highly publicized voting measure that could potentially extend the control of rents in California also seems doomed to failure. Proposal 10 would repeal Costa-Hawkins's 1995 Rental Housing Act, which restricts the ability of cities to implement rent control, but among likely voters, 48% oppose and 36% favor, 16% being undecided.

The survey, conducted from September 9 to 18, polled 1,710 California residents and 964 likely voters, and shows a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points among likely voters.