{"id":6842,"date":"2026-08-15T07:36:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T07:36:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6842"},"modified":"2026-08-15T07:36:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T07:36:23","slug":"what-do-californians-want-in-a-governor-traditional-party-policies-voter-poll-suggests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6842","title":{"rendered":"What do Californians want in a governor? ‘Traditional’ party policies, voter poll suggests"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For all the emphasis California\u2019s candidates for governor have placed on their sharply different backgrounds \u2014 Democrat Xavier Becerra, the experienced politician who\u2019d be the state\u2019s first Latino elected to the office, Republican Steve Hilton, the political outsider \u2014 the race is settling into something more familiar: a largely partisan contest driven by voters\u2019 policy preferences.<\/p>\n

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A new poll out Thursday indicates voters are most keenly interested in the candidate\u2019s ability to deliver on what it calls \u201ctraditional\u201d Democratic or Republican policies \u2014 citing as examples expanding healthcare, protecting LGBTQ+ rights and opposing Trump policies for Democrats, and reducing taxes and regulations for the GOP.<\/p>\n

The challenge for Hilton running in a heavily Democratic \u201cblue\u201d state where Republicans are outnumbered by Democrats in voter registration nearly 2-to-1, is how to appeal to more Democrats without losing Republican support, said Eric Schickler, co-director of the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll published Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is shaping up to be a fairly standard California general election, where Democrats enjoy a comfortable edge statewide,\u201d Schickler said. \u201cHilton would need to make major inroads among traditionally Democratic leaning groups to make this a highly competitive race.\u201d<\/p>\n

The poll found 55% of likely voters supporting Becerra, 37% backing Hilton and 7% undecided, with the results sharply divided by party and ideology. It found 88% of likely Democratic voters support Becerra, and 91% of likely Republican voters support Hilton.<\/p>\n

The results echo findings of other recent polls on the governor\u2019s race showing Becerra with double-digit leads over Hilton.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s poll is further confirmation that California voters support Secretary Becerra\u2019s focus on lowering the cost of living for California\u2019s working families and standing up against the hateful and disastrous policies pushed by Trump and his endorsed candidate, Steve Hilton,\u201d said Jonathan Underland, a Becerra campaign spokesman.<\/p>\n

Hilton\u2019s campaign however saw hopeful signs in the latest poll. Campaign spokesman Hector Barajas said it showed a narrower gap between the candidates than the last statewide poll. A July 15 Public Policy Institute of California poll showed Becerra leading Hilton 61% to 36%. Barajas said in a state where voters complain about affordability, Becerra is \u201cthe status quo candidate who represents more of the same failed policies that have driven up costs, crushed working people, and left California in crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe more voters actually hear about Becerra\u2019s record \u2014 the higher costs, the bureaucracy, the broken system he helped build and defend \u2014 the more they will choose change,\u201d Barajas said.<\/p>\n

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In the latest poll, Becerra enjoys a nearly 3-to-1 advantage among Bay Area likely voters , and he also led in the state\u2019s Central Coast region and around the state\u2019s major cities of Los Angeles and San Diego. The poll found Hilton leading Becerra in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley and sparsely populated North Coast and Sierras regions.<\/p>\n

Becerra was favored by California voters overall across all age, gender and racial and ethnic subgroups, but more so among younger voters, women and Black voters.<\/p>\n

Becerra has pitched himself to voters as an experienced hand with his experience in politics as a former state lawmaker and attorney general, member of Congress, and U.S. health secretary. And Democratic supporters also have noted he\u2019d be the first Latino elected governor \u2014 the state\u2019s first governor of Mexican ancestry, Romualdo Pacheco, was elected lieutenant governor in 1871 and became governor four years later when Gov. Newton Booth resigned to serve in the U.S Senate.<\/p>\n

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But among likely voters supporting Becerra, 38% cited his support for \u201ctraditional Democratic policies\u201d and another 38% that he would \u201caggressively fight Trump administration policies.\u201d Only 6% cited Becerra\u2019s political experience, and 1% that he is a Latino son of immigrants.<\/p>\n

Hilton, a British immigrant and former Fox host, has campaigned as political outsider and change agent.<\/p>\n

Among likely voters supporting Hilton, 55% cited his support for \u201ctraditional Republican policies,\u201d almost twice the 28% who cited that he\u2019s \u201cnot part of the California political establishment.\u201d Only 4% of Hilton supporters cited his endorsement by President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

The poll found 49% of likely voters have a favorable view of Becerra while 43% hold an unfavorable view of him. It found 39% of the state\u2019s likely voters hold a favorable view of Hilton while 50% hold an unfavorable view. Among likely voters not affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties, 48% view Becerra favorably and 44% unfavorably, while 31% view Hilton favorably and 59% unfavorably.<\/p>\n

The poll was conducted online in English and Spanish from Aug. 3 to 9 among 4,207 registered voters throughout the state, of whom a weighted sample of 2,310 were considered likely voters in the Nov. 3 general election. The margin of error was 2.5 percentage points.<\/p>\n

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A new Berkeley IGS poll finds partisan priorities outweigh biography in California\u2019s governor\u2019s race as Xavier Becerra leads Steve Hilton 55% to 37%.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6841,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat do Californians want in a governor? ‘Traditional’ party policies, voter poll suggests - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6842\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What do Californians want in a governor? 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