The new Field Poll of the California gubernatorial race shows Democrat Jerry Brown gaining a strong lead against Republican Meg Whitman. As for Whitman, who has spent a record sum of her own money on the campaign, her unfavorable ratings have only gone up over time.
The numbers: Brown 49%, Whitman 39%. The survey of likely voters has a ±3.2% margin of error. In the previous Field Poll from a month ago, the two were tied at 41%-41%
From the pollster’s analysis:
Since early 2010 Whitman has spent an unprecedented large amount of campaign advertising funds in TV, radio and direct mail. Also, there has been three well-publicized gubernatorial debates and numerous personal appearances throughout the state, along with extensive free media coverage. Despite all this, Whitman has been unable to increase the proportion of voters who view her favorably. In fact, over this same period the proportion of voters who hold a negative opinion of Whitman has grown – from 27% in March, to 42% in July, to 45% in mid-September, and to 51% in the current survey.
The TPM Poll Average gives Brown a lead of 48.9%-41.0%.
