Becerra holds 27-point lead over Hilton in California governor’s race: Poll

Democrat Xavier Becerra is maintaining his strong lead in California’s gubernatorial race with only weeks to go until Election Day, according to a new poll released Wednesday.

The Emerson College survey found that 60 percent of likely voters backed the former Health and Human Services secretary over his Republican opponent Steve Hilton to replace outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).

Hilton, a Fox News commentator who is endorsed by President Trump, received 33 percent support in this poll. Of the seven percent of likely California voters who indicated they were still undecided on this race, 64 percent said they were leaning toward backing Becerra.

Becerra garnered around 28 percent of the vote in the state’s top-two primary contest in June, while Hilton narrowly edged out Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer to advance to the November general election.

The Democrat has pulled ahead in polling leading up to Election Day, posting a 25-point advantage in a survey from the University of California Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies last month.

A survey conducted by the same university’s polling center in August found Becerra with an 18-point lead among likely voters.

The Emerson poll also asked likely voters about their top issue heading into the midterm election. Forty-five percent of respondents said the “economy” — mirroring national trends among voters expressing concern about rising costs of living in the country.

Seventeen percent of respondents indicated that housing affordability was a top concern, while 10 percent selected healthcare and immigration.

Additionally, 33 percent of surveyed likely voters said they approved of President Trump’s job performance amid the president’s sinking approval ratings in national polls. Newsom received a 46 percent approval rating in this survey.

The Emerson College poll was conducted among 1,000 likely California voters from Oct. 17-19 with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.