GOP gubernatorial candidate Tim Donnelly greets gun show enthusiasts

Two days before the June 3 primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Tim Donnelly did not dismiss a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll that found that he was no longer the front-runner for the second spot on the fall ballot.

But he said he was encouraged by what he hears from voters as he continues to barnstorm the state.

“It very well could be” a dead heat with Neel Kashkari, his main Republican rival, Donnelly said in an interview Sunday. “You never know, you just never know till the last vote is counted.”

“It’s a grind, but it’s excellent,” the San Bernardino County assemblyman said. “I’m really, really encouraged by what people are saying at their doorsteps. People are excited about my campaign and almost none of them have heard of my opponent in spite of all his money.

“…The polling on the streets and the polling with real people is the most accurate,” he said.

The poll, published Sunday, found that Donnelly and Kashkari were in a dead heat going into Tuesday’s election. Kashkari had a narrow lead, within the margin of error, which pollsters said showed that he had momentum in the final days of the campaign.

Whichever candidate takes the second spot on Tuesday will take on Gov. Jerry Brown in November.

Donnelly made his remarks as he greeted voters at his booth at the annual Raahauge’s Shooting Sports Fair, which draws thousands to a dusty, sun-baked field on the outskirts of Corona to test various types of weapons. Nearby, a Springfield XD .40 pistol was being raffled off by a gun enthusiasts’ group, and the National Rifle Assn. was urging attendees to join.

Donnelly handed out “Got Liberty?” T-shirts, bumper stickers and rubber bracelets, and the T-shirts came with a stipulation: “You got to wear it today, because I need the advertising,” Donnelly said. “Tell everybody you know. Get a picture with me and Facebook it. It’s a cheap way to spread the word.”

Donnelly, a strong supporter of gun rights, said the crowd was a natural fit for his campaign. “These are 2nd Amendment people, so yeah absolutely,” he said.

Several attendees greeted Donnelly by saying they had already voted for him by mail, while others peppered him with questions about his views on concealed-carrying permits, military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. (He believes all should be legal).

Drew Kerr, 42, of La Quinta, said he had already cast a ballot for Donnelly.

“The fact that he’s pro-2nd Amendment is real big,” said the golf course superintendent. “If we don’t have people fighting for our 2nd Amendment rights, we will lose them.”

Three of Donnelly’s siblings travelled to California to help his effort in the final days of the campaign, and on Sunday they manned the booth. They said they never imagined that their brother would one day run for governor but traced Donnelly’s bid to their family’s interest in politics.

“We paid more attention to elections than sporting events,” said James Donnelly, 32, of South Carolina. “As a kid, I remember the 1988 presidential debate and trying to talk about it with my friends and realizing most families didn’t gather around to watch the debate.”

But “it was part of the fabric of our family.”