The Whitman-Poizner Slugfest Gets Serious
When a SUSA poll came out earlier this month showing that California Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman had suddenly lost nearly all of a once-enormous lead over Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, it was a bit hard to believe. But now the respected Public Policy Institute of California has released a new survey confirming a Poizner surge, and it looks like the increasingly negative and incredibly expensive slugfest between the two has become a real contest.
The title of PPIC’s press release says it all: “Stunning Drop in Whitman’s Support Transforms GOP Race For Governor.” The last PPIC poll in March had eMeg leading Poizner by a 61-11 margin, and she appeared to be in the process of burying him once and for all in an avalanche of attack ads. Now her lead is down to nine points, at 38-29, and perhaps reflecting the highly negative tone of the contest, the undecided vote has gone up from 25% in March to 31% now.