The new Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll of California provides further corroboration that former eBay CEO Meg Whitman’s once-formidable lead in the Republican gubernatorial primary has collapsed, putting her in a competitive race against state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner.
The numbers: Whitman 46%, Poizner 36%, with 18% undecided. Back in March, Whitman led by 52%-19%, with 29% undecided. The TPM Poll Average gives Whitman a lead over Poizner of 40.8%-31.9%, after having led by over 40 points in March.
Kos writes: “Clearly, the avalanche of negative campaign ads in both directions has taken more luster off of Whitman than Poizner. Not only has he managed to drag Whitman back under the 50% threshold, but he has also, it would seem, mopped up most of those undecided voters.”
In addition, both Whitman and Poizner both trail the presumptive Democratic nominee, state Attorney General Jerry Brown, who previously served as governor from 1975-1983. Brown leads Whitman by 46%-42%, and leads Poizner by 47%-37%.
